Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied long-standing allegations that he wanted to extend his presidency beyond two terms, claiming he never sought such a move.
Obasanjo made the statements on Wednesday at the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation’s democracy dialogue in Accra. He emphasized that no proof exists to support the speculation.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I would 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,” Obasanjo said.
The former president opined that securing debt relief for Nigeria during his administration was a much tougher feat than pursuing a tenure extension.
“I keep telling them that, look, if I wanted to get debt relief, which is more difficult than getting a third term, and I got it, if I wanted a third term, I would have gotten it too,” he added.
Obasanjo also warned against leaders clinging to power, stressing that such behavior reflects a false sense of indispensability.
“I know that the best is done when you are young, ideal, vibrant, and dynamic. When you are ‘kuje kuje,’ you don’t have the best. But some people believe that unless they are there, nobody else will be,” he said.
“They will even tell you that they haven’t got anybody else. I believe that that is a sin against God, because if God takes you away, which God can do anytime, then somebody else will come, and that somebody else may do better or may do worse.”
