Former President Olusegun Obasanjo
Former
President Olusegun Obasanjo at the ceremony marking his 77th birthday
in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Wednesday said that he did not
know his real age.
Obasanjo described the 77th birthday as his “official birthday”.
He said, “There are those of us like me
who have no real record of birth. I want to thank God once again for
what He has done in my life. Whether I know the exact date of my birth
or not, I think God has made my path glorious.
“I was actually born on Ifo market day
because according to my mother, she had prepared to go to the Ifo Market
and Ifo market was every five days. And then she was in labour, before
those who went to Ifo market could come back, I was born.
“I know and she knew I was born on Ifo market day. Don’t ask me what year or month.”
Obasanjo’s revelation was in response to
the Olowu of Owu, Oba Olusanya Dosunmu’s assertion that the two-time
leader of the country was actually older than 77 years.
He said it was not important that he did not know his age as that had not stopped God from making his path a glorious one.
The former President, who spoke amid
applause, thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for “congratulating me on
this day of my official birthday.”
The event, which was organised by the
Centre for Human Security, in conjunction with the UNESCO Institute for
African Culture and International Understanding, held at the Olusegun
Obasanjo Presidential Library, in Abeokuta.
The ex-President described himself as a
lucky man, saying he would have been “consumed” if God had taken his
shortcomings into account.
He said, “I have been very lucky for
many things. At one occasion, I said God has never disappointed me and a
journalist who thinks that he knows too much asked if I had
disappointed God. I said, of course, as long as I am living on flesh and
blood, I am liable to be unworthy. In all, I have strived to meet the
standard of what God expects of me.
“God has never taken my shortcomings, my
failures and all that into account. He hasn’t counted them against me
because if He had, I would have been consumed. So, God has really
sustained me with His grace, mercy, goodness and compassion.”
Earlier in his goodwill message, Dosunmu
described Obasanjo as a “humane” man who never took the issues
bordering on Nigerian unity lightly.
He said, “When you speak against the
unity of Nigeria, you would see the red of Obasanjo’s eye. It is not by
accident, it is in-built. He fears God and honours all human beings,”
Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun,
said in his remarks that the former President had remained a blessing to
the state and the country at large.
“Hate or love Obasanjo, you cannot just
take something from him. Obasanjo’s passion for the unity of Nigeria is
second to none,” the governor said.
Other dignitaries at the event were a
former Ekiti State Governor, Chief Segun Oni; former Minister of
Education, Prof. Babalola Borishade; a former Inspector-General of
Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero; the immediate past chairman of SURE-P, Dr.
Christopher Kolade; and Sierra Leonean Minister of Education, Science
and Technology, Dr. Minkailu Bah.
Others were a former Executive
Secretary, National Universities Commission, Prof. Peter Okebukola;
state Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye; a former Vice-Chancellor
of University of Lagos, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe; and Prof. Akin Mabogunje.
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