Isaac Samuel
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described his decision to pick former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as his running mate in the 1999 presidential election as the biggest mistake of his presidency, saying he would never have made the choice if he had known him better.
Obasanjo made the remark on Friday during a fireside chat with veteran entertainer and activist Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, at the unveiling of Charly Boy’s foundation and his memoir, 999: A Memoir in Tribute to Late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, in Lagos.
A video of the event sighted on Saturday was posted on iWitnessLive TV’s YouTube channel.
Responding to a question on the greatest mistake of his time in office, Obasanjo said while every leader makes mistakes, his choice of vice president stood out as one decision he regretted.
“What I have found in my own life is that mistakes that could have been fatal, God had taken care of them for me,” he said.
When Charly Boy pressed him to identify a specific mistake, Obasanjo replied: “The man I picked as my running mate, my number two. If I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him.”
Asked if he was referring to Atiku, Obasanjo responded: “My vice president. I don’t know what name you want to give him, but my vice president, I mean that.”
The former president said his subsequent experience with Atiku convinced him that he had made the wrong choice, although he expressed gratitude that events did not derail his administration.
“What I know about him later… thank God, because God did not allow his actions and reactions to overwhelm me, or divert my focus from Nigeria, or harm Nigeria,” he said.
Obasanjo, however, insisted he bore no grudge against his former deputy.
“There’s no bitterness, because he did what he believed he should do, and God did what He had to do, which enabled me to achieve what I was able to achieve,” he added.
The former president also reflected on the Nigerian Civil War, rejecting claims that it amounted to genocide. According to him, the military campaign was aimed at preserving Nigeria’s unity, and deliberate efforts were made to minimise civilian casualties.
Recalling the recapture of Owerri, Obasanjo said he refused to bomb the city to avoid killing innocent civilians.
“I did not drop a single bomb inside Owerri because it would have been destructive and killed innocent civilians. I dropped my bombs short of Owerri and beyond Owerri to warn people that we were coming,” he said.
Obasanjo and Atiku were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999 and served together until 2007.
Their relationship later deteriorated following political disagreements during Obasanjo’s second term in office, culminating in a prolonged rivalry that has shaped Nigeria’s political landscape for nearly two decades.
The event was attended by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Peter Obi, businessman Leo Stan Ekeh, Dr Austin Tam-George and veteran broadcaster Bisi Olatilo, among other dignitaries.
