Enigmatic Obasanjo at 80
Last week, leaders across the globe stormed Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to mark the 80th birthday of a quintessentially iconic Nigerian, former President Olusegun Obasanjo in grand style. Sheriff Balogun writes
The venue, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) was filled to the brim as leaders across the world converged on Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital to identify with former President Olusegun Obasanjo who marked his 80 years birthday with pomp and pageantry. The one week-long celebration witnessed story time gathering with Obasanjo, sporting activities, secondary school and inter-varsity debate, cultural feast, grand opening of the presidential library and inauguration of the library central mosque.
Among the dignitaries who graced the event include: the acting President, Prof. Yemi Osibajo; Liberian President, Ellen JohnsonSirleaf, Presidents Faure Gnassingbe (Togo), Ernest Koroma (Sierra Leone), Boni Yayi (Benin Republic), Laila Ndinga (Kenya), Joyce Banda (Malawi), William Mkapa (Tanzania) , Nicephore Soglo; Prince Michael of Kent, Kofi Anan, Prof. Akin Adesina, former president of Ghana, John Kuffour.
Others include: former presidents Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Ernest Sonekan and Abdul Salam Abubakar, and Emeka Anyaoku, Namadi Sambo, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Olusegun Osoba, Kwakwaso.
Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun; Minister for Mines and Steel, Dr. Fayemi; Minister for Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Femi Otedola, Aliko Dangote, Alimodu Sherif, Goodswill Akpabio, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Donald Duke, Liyel Imoke, Alao Akala, Andrew Young, Nuhu Ribadu and several other notables graced the event.
The celebration commenced with a thanksgiving service organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) led by the Deputy National Vice President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Wale Oke.
In his sermon, Oke described the former president as man of destiny whom God has raised for a specific purpose in Nigeria, saying all the past experiences of the former Head of State and president pointed to the direction that God has a hand in his life.
While responding to the Oke’s sermon, Obasanjo who was full of joy said God has done so much for him more than he deserved, noting that despite the fact that he was imprisoned on a trumped up charge of coup plotting by late General Sanni Abacha, he came out alive and later became a president in 1999.
He said: “If you don’t know anything about me at all, go to the village where I was born. I was born by parents that were illiterate. There was no road to the village then. One could not boast of even being known in the next village.”
A segment of the event, ‘Story Time With Baba’ was held at his village in Ibogun area of the state. It was organised by Centre For Human Security, arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).
During the event, Obasanjo told rib cracking jokes to the pupils of his former school, Baptist Day School, Ibogun. He told the students different folk stories where he tasked parents and guidance on teaching children moral values that will serve as foundations for their lives.
While recounting his growing up time in the village, Obasanjo said his parents and other community leaders usually gather young children, including him, under the moonlight to give them riddles and tell them fables.
The former president, therefore, advised parents and community leaders to revive the culture of story telling among children to enable them imbibe good moral standard.
According to him, we have grown up with those moral values and they served as foundations upon which we built our lives and conducted ourselves wherever we went.
Obasanjo said he had written 12 books containing several of such stories as part of efforts to sustain the culture and prepare the children for the future. He distributed copies of the books to pupils of the school and other schools in the state.
The celebration continued at the 2017 International Youth Variety Day and Public Presentation of Olusegun Obasanjo’s Books for Children in Abeokuta where Obasanjo disclosed his motive behind the establishment of the president library.
He said lack of care for the country’s archival materials and treasures informed the establishment of a presidential library, saying ”we have been careless with what we should not be careless with”.
According to the former president, the presidential library will serve as a centre for the presentation of the past, capturing the presence and inspiring our future.
He, therefore, said the development prompted the idea of having a library to keep the materials for restoration of the country’s history, saying “the situation I saw was that our national treasure was not guided carefully.”
At the grand opening of the presidential library and the library’s central mosque, the sterling qualities of Obasanjo were extolled as the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo described him as a precious gift to Nigeria.
While describing his strategic roles in the nation’s history, Osinbajo stated that “Obasanjo is therefore a gift in various ways being so intricately tied to the history of Nigeria.”
He noted that few years after independence, he played a crucial role in the civil war and later became military head of state during which he midwifed a transition programme that culminated in the election of the first executive president.
He said in retirement, Obasanjo embraced farming before he returned back to public service as elected president in two elections, and later handed over to another elected president.
He, therefore, said Obasanjo’s enduring legacy would be his belief in one strong, detribalised Nigeria, and in an Africa united in vision and thoughts.
Osinbajo who described the former president as an authentic African icon, said Obasanjo’s pan-Africanist vision could be gleaned from the large presence of Africa’s serving and former heads of governments at the event.
“But we diminish his vision if we do not recognise his place as a world – statesman even that is evident from the representatives of the world that are present here today”, he added.
He noted that at every turn, “the former president recorded his views and perspectives especially in various books, articles, seminars and now in this amazing monument to add credible life of service to our continent and to our world.”
According to him, very few human beings have a chance of making history and fewer still have a good fortune of making history, writing it as you go along and living longer to even establish a library and write history in your own words.
He added: “Baba Olusegun Obasanjo is certainly one of those rare human beings.
“But we diminish his vision if we do not recognise his place as a world statesman, even that is evident from the representatives of the world that are present here today”, he added.
The acting president said: “History is the most compassionate teacher. At some point in time we were told in an adage that experience is the best teacher but now we know it is only half of a wise saying.
The full statement of that adage is that experience is the best teacher for a fool, a wise man doesn’t need the pain of experience, history is a kinder and a more compassionate teacher.”
However, in her remarks, the Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson said, “the lessons herein are more than academic or events from the past, when history and technology meet as eloquently displayed in Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, history becomes alive as a dynamic reality and development of human kind for our people”.
She said further, “our children will read events of history, will live, interact, feel and challenge the interpretation of past events.”
Describing the library as a project to be emulated by others, the Liberian President advised African children, adults, scholars everywhere and friends of Africa worldwide to visit the presidential library to feel the exhibits from the life and times of a great son of Nigeria and Africa.
Obasanjo, in his comment at the event said the library was the fulfillment of the vision and mission he had in 1988 to collect vital materials on the civil war.
The former president, who described the library as a centre of knowledge, said the it would also sustain culture and encourage tourism.
Meanwhile, the week-long birthday celebration that started with a thanksgiving service ended with a thanksgiving as the former Prelate of Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Mbang on Sunday urged leaders across the country to emulate former president Obasanjo’s leadership qualities, saying his good deeds would outlived him.
Mbang, in his sermon, titled, ‘The Quality of Our Gratitude to God’ said Obasanjo created majority of government institutions which according to him are performing well, citing Economic Financial and Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He stressed that no government after Obasanjo had added anything to what Baba had created.
The cleric who lamented that the country would have been more better than its current status, said “if other administrations that succeeded Obasanjo had followed his agricultural plan, the country will not be where it is today.”
He also disclosed that Obasanjo is the best president Nigeria has ever had, insisting that no president has been able to match his achievements.
“This man within three months of getting to office built a chapel in the Aso Villa. I remember that at that time when Obasanjo came into the Villa, there were 12 mosques in the Villa and there was no single church but Obasanjo built a chapel for Christians to worship.”
While describing Obasanjo as a God fearing man who has neither been ashamed nor feel too big to serve God at all time, said Baba Obasanjo served as a good example of a leader others should copy.
Obasanjo in his brief response, commended the guests, the OOPL Board of Trustees, Clerics, Children as well as his family members, saying “thank you all and I pray God will honour us all”.