In a veiled manner, former President Olusegun has described the report of National Conference organised by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as a bunch of rubbish, which he did not bother himself to read it.
He decried the call for national conferences or assemblies to negotiate the continued unity of Nigeria. He described such conferences as distractions.
He decried the call for national conferences or assemblies to negotiate the continued unity of Nigeria. He described such conferences as distractions.
Obasanjo made this disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria at his hilltop residence in Abeokuta, in preparation for his 80th birthday.
He added that God had been partial to him as he did not deserve the favour He bestowed on him.
Obasanjo also decried the call for national conferences or assemblies to negotiate the continued unity of Nigeria.
“We Nigerians need ourselves and if anyone thinks he does not need another person, good luck to him. What I see in all those groups trying to break away is that they want more of the national cake.
“But I think that rather than engage in violence, they should think of how to build on the sacrifices of the generations before them,” he said.
Also, on Sunday, Obasanjo said God had been partial to him, arguing that he did not deserve all the favour God had shown him.
He stated this in his remarks at the thanksgiving service organised in his honour by the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ogun State chapter, ahead of his 80th birthday scheduled to hold on Sunday, March 5.
The thanksgiving service was held at the Treasure House of God, Agbeloba, Abeokuta.
Decked in white agbada, the former President said given the village where he hails from, Ibogun Olaogun, and the illiterate parents that gave birth to him, he never thought his name would even be known in the next village let alone the whole of Nigeria, Africa and the world in general.
The elder statesman, who would turn 80 on March 5, said he had no regrets at such an age.
He said his hope that Nigeria would still be a great nation was still intact.
Obasanjo also recounted his ordeal after he was alleged to be involved in planning a coup against the regime of the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha.
He said it was due to divine intervention that he came out of prison alive.
He said, “God has been partial to me by showing me so much favour that I do not deserve.
“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 illiterates. There was no road to the village then. One could not boast of even being known in the next village.
“God has done so much more than I deserve. I thank God for this.”
Obasanjo said he was confused when he came out of the prison and people were mounting pressure on him to come out and contest the Presidency in the run-up to the 1999 general elections.
Bishop Wale Oke, in his sermon, urged the former President to forgive all who had wronged him, so as to have a right standing with God.