I made mistake picking Atiku as my running mate – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says picking former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as his running mate during the 1999 Presidential election was one of his mistakes in life.

Obasanjo disclosed this during an event at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State, featuring presentations and exhibitions of some products made by students of the participating schools.

The former president was answering questions posed by students from selected secondary schools who participated in the final of the National Exhibition and Awards organised by Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE).

Obasanjo and his former deputy, Atiku had a running battle in the run-up to the 2003 general elections.

Recalling his achievements, first as Military head of state and later a civilian President, Obasanjo expressed regret that he had made many “genuine” mistakes in his life, but God gave him victory over all adversaries.

According to him, “One of the mistakes I made was picking my Number Two (referring to Atiku) when I wanted to become the President. But because it was a genuine mistake, God saved me.

“The second one (mistake) was when Abacha wanted to arrest me. When. Abacha wanted to arrest me, I was told by the American ambassador that they would arrest me and that America has asked that I should be given an asylum. I said no. It could have been a mistake because I could have lost my life.

“I will say there are many things that could have been a mistake but God saved me from them all”.

The former president deplored the current trend of recycling old politicians in elective positions, saying young Nigerians would not have the chance to exhibit themselves under such circumstances.

On the available opportunities for the youths to take over the mantle of leadership in the country, Obasanjo expressed regret that money politics would make it difficult for Nigerians to actively participate in politics.

But the former president urged the youths to remain hopeful inspite of the current trend of money politics in the country.

Obasanjo said, “With the “Not Too Young to Run” campaign, you can see that those that are contesting now are between 70 and 80 years old, how can the youths run?

“Another thing inhibiting youth from running is the amount of money involved in going into politics. I hope that things should not continue like this.

“I was 39 years old when I became the Military Head of State. Twenty years later, I came back as civilian president, but those there now do not want to allow the youths. If things continue like this, I do not know how you can come in.”

He enjoined the students to imbibe religious tolerance, advising them not to see their own religion as superior to that of the other citizens of the country.

Obasanjo said, “I have no right to say what another man believes in is inferior to mine. If God had wanted all of us to be of the same religion, he would have made it so and since He did not make it so, no person should attempt to make it so.

“Young people should learn at a very early age in life that if there are five religions in the world, that is how God wants it to be. If there are ten, that is how God wants it. All religions originate from the same source.

“If you are a Muslim and you did not live the way God wants you to live, you cannot enter Aljannah. If you are a Christian and you did not live the way God wants you to live, the same thing, you will not enter paradise.

“If the basis of religion is doing the right thing for the benefits of mankind, you don’t have to condemn any person because of what he believes.

“I do not believe that any religion is superior to mine and I don’t believe that mine is superior to another person’s beliefs. I will not allow any person to cast aspersions on my religion and will not do same to another person. Practice your religion the way God wants you to do it and don’t condemn another person.”

While welcoming participant to the programme, Chairman of SAGE Nigeria, Agwu Amogu, said the event was organised to celebrate the creative energies and commitments of teen entrepreneurs who confront the challenges in the communities with a view to addressing them.

He said, “SAGE is an acronym for Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship. It is an international programme initiated at the California State University Chico USA in 2002 and currently operational in over 32 countries across all the continents of the world.

“It offers secondary school aged young people a hands-on learning process on how to create wealth, help others and their communities.”