Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described his decision to choose former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as his running mate in the 1999 presidential election as the biggest mistake he made while serving in office. Obasanjo made the remark in Lagos during the unveiling of activist and musician Charly Boy’s foundation……
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described his decision to choose former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as his running mate in the 1999 presidential election as the biggest mistake he made while serving in office.
Obasanjo made the remark in Lagos during the unveiling of activist and musician Charly Boy’s foundation and his memoir, 999: A Memoir in Tribute to Late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.
Responding to a question on what he considered his greatest mistake in government, the former President pointed to the choice of his deputy, saying he would never have made the decision if he had known Atiku better at the time.
“Mistake when I was in government? 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,” Obasanjo said.
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When Charly Boy sought clarification on whether he was referring to Atiku, the former President replied:
“My vice president. I don’t know what name you want to give him, but my vice president, I mean that.
“If I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him.
“Thank God his actions and reactions did not overwhelm me or divert my own focus from Nigeria.
“There is no bitterness. He did things he believed he should do and God did things he needed to do, which enabled me to achieve what I was able to achieve.”
Obasanjo and Atiku served together between 1999 and 2007 before their relationship deteriorated during their second term in office over political disagreements.
The former President had also made similar remarks in June 2022 while addressing students participating in the National Exhibition and Awards organised by Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
“One of the mistakes I made was picking my Number Two when I wanted to become the president.
“But because it was a genuine mistake, God saved me,” he had said.
Obasanjo’s latest comments come days after he and Atiku exchanged words over allegations contained in the former President’s memoir that the former Vice President bribed late Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, with N5 million in an alleged bid to facilitate his impeachment before the 2003 general election.
Atiku dismissed the allegation as false and unfair, arguing that the late lawmaker was no longer alive to respond to the claims.
Speaking further at the Lagos event, Obasanjo reflected on the Nigerian Civil War, rejecting suggestions that the conflict amounted to genocide.
“The civil war was traumatic to all Nigerians. It hurt some maybe a little bit harder than others, depending on where, but the civil war was bad for all Nigerians,” he said.
The former military commander said he deliberately avoided bombing civilian-populated areas during military operations, citing the recapture of Owerri as an example.
“I did not drop a single bomb inside Owerri, because it would be destructive — it would have killed innocent civilians. I dropped my bombs short of Owerri and beyond Owerri, to warn people that we are coming home,” he said.
Obasanjo also addressed longstanding questions about his ancestry, insisting that his parents were from Abeokuta, Ogun State.
“I still know our family house there,” he said.
The event was attended by several prominent Nigerians, including former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi; businessman Leo Stan Ekeh; public affairs analyst Dr. Austin Tam-George; veteran broadcaster Bisi Olatilo; and other dignitaries.
