Obasanjo revisits how he landed in Abacha jail, a personal price he had to pay to help build up society
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed that it was his inability to keep quiet on national and international issues of concern that landed him in jail under the military junta of Sani Abacha three decades ago, and despite the fact he nearly got killed, he still cannot be silent on the same matters today.
Obasanjo in 1995 was accused of involvement in a phantom coup to topple the dictator, tried by a military tribunal, found guilty, and sentenced to death.
However, Abacha himself died mysteriously before he could get round to kill Obasanjo. He was later released from prison by Abacha’s successor, Abubakar Abdulsalami, who was also instrumental in Obasanjo becoming civilian President in 1999.
Obasanjo recounted to 15 young male and female future African leaders drawn from different parts of Africa – at a session held at Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta at the weekend – that going to prison was a challenge to him because he refused to keep quiet on what was happening in Nigeria at the time.
He tasked the youth on positive leadership roles for the continent, saying his prison experience was part of his personal challenges of life, propelled by his desire to engage in “anything to comment on.”
His words: “I [left] the army at the age of 42. I finished my career as a military officer, but what could I do? I was still energetic and dynamic but I was still young.
“So, I took to agriculture, and during that time, I went into prison, and that was not what I really wanted.
“Going into prison was really a challenge because I refused to keep quiet. For me, if there was anything to comment on, I did comment on them, and so, I landed in prison, and that was a challenge.
“And, when I came out from prison the situation was bad in the country that some people felt the need to be saved and pressure started coming.”
Obasanjo said the quest to save Nigeria from imminent disintegration made him accept to be President in 1999 when he was approached with the offer even though he had settled into agriculture after military service.
A statement issued by his Media Assistant Kehinde Akinyemi quoted him as urging the youths under the umbrella of Future Africa Leaders Foundation, who visited the library with the 10 winners of the Prestigious and Life Challenging Future Africa Leaders Awards, to bear the torch of light and leadership for a better Nigeria and the African continent.
On African debt, Obasanjo lamented that the debt burden of some countries is due to recklessness and outright corruption.
“Most of the debts cannot be explained. Some, outright corruption,” he said, citing a state in Nigeria where the site for a proposed carpet industry was never cleared for it to be built but the entire loan was repaid.
He commended the participants and organisers of the event, particularly the founder of Future Africa Leaders Foundation, Chris Oyakhilome, for hosting the 2024 edition of the programme yet again.
The Star Prize winner of the 2024 edition, Julian Ariori, from the Republic of Benin, on behalf of co-winners thanked Obasanjo for hosting the team, declaring that the tour of the Presidential Library opened a new vista to orientation and exposure of the visitors.
Other participants came from countries that included Libya, Morocco, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, South Sudan, Malawi, Egypt, Cameroon, Togo, Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, and Burkina Faso.
They were chaperoned by the Head, Media and Government Relations of the Foundation, Sylvester Ebhodaghe.
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