Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that he made a mistake while picking his vice when he ruled the country in 1999.
Obasanjo said this at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State, at a leadership and entrpreneurship mentoring session with selected school students.
Obasanjo, who won the 1999 and 2003 presidential elections, ran alongside Atiku Abubakar.
While interacting with the students, Obasanjo revealed that he had made many “genuine mistakes” in his life; saying, however, that God made him overcome them.
“One of the mistakes I made was picking my number two when I wanted to become the president. But because it was a genuine mistake, God saved me,” Obasanjo said.
“I don’t say I don’t make mistakes – I made many of them,” Obasanjo said.
“But one thing that has happened to me is that God has never disappointed me. And that is very important.
“For instance, one of the mistakes I made was picking a number two when I was going to become President.
“But because it is a genuine mistake, God saved me out of it.”
While in office, the duo of Obasanjo and Atiku disagreed on issues as they went up in arms against each other for years.
Speaking about the second mistake, Obasanjo said he refused an asylum offered to him by the American Embassy when he was about to be arrested by the late former military dictator, General Sani Abacha.
According to Obasanjo, he would have lost his life during the period of his incarceration, but God saved him.
“When Abacha wanted to arrest me, I was told by the American ambassador that they will arrest me and that America has asked that I should be given an asylum. I said no. It could have been a mistake because I could have lost my life.”
The Balogun Owu maintained that God had saved him from many things that could have been a mistake.
On whether the youths could be allowed to rule the nation, Obasanjo expressed worries, stating that youths may never come into power if the current trend in Nigeria continues.
The former president regretted that in spite of the “Not Too Young to Run” campaign, people contesting to rule the nation are between 70 and 80 years old.
“How can the youths run,” he asked, adding that the amount of money involved in going into politics would not allow youths to get to leadership positions.
