… Ex-president says overstaying in power is a sin against God
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has again denied allegations that he attempted to elongate his stay in office beyond 2007, declaring that no Nigerian — living or dead — can produce evidence that he ever pushed for a third term agenda.
Obasanjo spoke on Wednesday at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, where he described the recurring claims as unfounded and mischievous.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian dead or alive that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” the former president stated.
Obasanjo, who led Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, argued that securing international debt relief for Nigeria during his administration was far more difficult than any constitutional amendment for tenure extension.
“I keep telling them that if I could get debt relief, which was tougher than securing a third term, then if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he added.
The Ota farmer, often regarded as one of Africa’s most vocal elder statesmen, also cautioned leaders against the temptation of clinging to power at all costs.
According to him, the belief that a country cannot survive without a particular leader is not only dangerous but also an affront to God.
“They will even tell you that unless they are there, nobody else can do it. I believe that that is a sin against God. If God takes you away tomorrow, somebody else will come, and that person may do better or may do worse,” Obasanjo said.
The former president further stressed that the energy and innovation needed for effective governance are best demonstrated in younger years, not when a leader is “weak and tired.”
“I know that the best is done when you are young, ideal, vibrant and dynamic. When you are old and dragging, you don’t give your best,” he noted.
Obasanjo’s remarks come amid fresh debates across Africa about constitutional manipulations by leaders seeking tenure elongation. Critics have often linked his administration to an alleged third term plot, which the former president has consistently dismissed as “baseless.”
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