Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has publicly dismissed long-standing allegations that he once sought to extend his tenure beyond the constitutional two terms. Speaking on Wednesday at the Democracy Dialogue of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Obasanjo challenged anyone to provide evidence of him pursuing a third term.
“I think I’m not a fool. If I wanted it, some thought I wanted it, I know how to go about it,” the 87-year-old statesman declared. “And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that will say I called him and told him I wanted the third term. None.”
Obasanjo, who led Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, argued that obtaining a third term would have been a simpler task than securing the massive $18 billion debt relief package from the Paris Club in 2005. He cited this as a major achievement of his administration, saying, “If I wanted to get debt relief, which is more difficult than getting a third term and I got it, if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too.”
A “Sin Against God” and the Value of Youth
The former president also used the platform to warn against leaders who believe they are indispensable, describing this mindset as a “sin against God.” He stated that if a leader is removed, someone else will emerge, and that person may perform better or worse.
“Some people believe that unless they are there, nobody else,” he said. “I believe that that is a sin against God, because if God takes you away, which God can do anytime, then somebody else will come, and that somebody else may do better or may do worse.”
Obasanjo further stressed that the best leaders are those who are young, vibrant, and dynamic. He noted that as a leader ages and becomes “kuje kuje” (a Yoruba phrase for being weak or frail), they may no longer be at their best.
Obasanjo’s comments come amid ongoing debates across Africa regarding constitutional changes and presidential term limits.
