Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said President Bola Tinubu’s administration has failed Nigerians and called on voters to reject him in 2027.
Obasanjo spoke on Monday at the 7.0 Presidential Youth Mentorship Retreat themed “African Youth Renaissance” at the Youth Development Centre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He blamed Tinubu’s policies for the collapse of many businesses and rising living costs.
“Tinubu has failed, his incompetence has made many businesses die. Don’t let him come back for a second term,” he said.
“Nigeria Needs a New Direction”
Obasanjo said many Nigerians who were previously doing well are now struggling to survive.
He said shops and factories had closed, and many young people had lost their jobs because of bad policies.
According to him, the cost of food, fuel, and other necessities had soared while businesses continued to decline.
He said the 2027 election would give Nigerians the opportunity to decide the kind of future they want.
He called for a leader who could fix the economy.
Tinubu is contesting under the All Progressives Congress (APC) against Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and others.
Obasanjo Recounts Abacha’s Plot
In a separate interview with BBC News Pidgin, Obasanjo alleged that military ruler Sani Abacha planned to kill him during his administration.
Obasanjo said he rejected a US offer of political asylum despite an ambassador’s warning that authorities would arrest him if he returned to Nigeria.
He said authorities placed him under house arrest after former US President Jimmy Carter pleaded on his behalf, but later took him to prison.
The 89-year-old explained that he decided to pursue agriculture after leaving office as Nigeria’s military Head of State in 1979.
“When I was leaving government as military head of state, there was, I was leaving too early. I didn’t join the army to retire at the age of 42,” he said.
He said his farming activities were progressing well until Abacha allegedly made plans to have him eliminated.
“It really was going well, and it went well until I was arrested. Abacha had decided that I must be liquidated; otherwise he would not be able to have his way,” he said.
Obasanjo said the American ambassador in Nigeria called him and said his country had offered him political asylum because they knew he would be arrested if he returned home.
“This was difficult for me. I don’t, I haven’t done anything. What do they want to arrest me for? Um, I don’t want political asylum,” he said.
He said when he arrived, authorities seized his passport, and he made for his farm.
At the gate, his security waved him down and said security had surrounded the farm.
A policeman came in mufti and said he had been invited by the Assistant Inspector General (AIG).
“I said, ‘You are a fool. If the AIG wants me to help him, he will not be inviting me. He will come here.’ So it was my own car that I used to take myself to the police station. We saw the AIG, and the AIG said, ‘I have been instructed to arrest you,’” he recounted.
He said he was put in a place, then President Jimmy Carter came and pleaded, and they put him under house arrest.
Later, they came one day while he was playing squash at about 1 a.m. and took him away to prison.
