Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed how he rejected an offer of political asylum from the United States despite warnings that he would be arrested if he returned to Nigeria during the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha.
The former president also recounted how his decision to venture into farming after retiring from the Nigerian Army ended with his arrest and eventual imprisonment under Abacha’s administration.
Obasanjo made the revelations while reflecting on his experience during the Abacha regime in an interview featured in a video published by BBC News Pidgin on Tuesday.
Obasanjo became Nigeria’s military Head of State on February 13, 1976, following the assassination of General Murtala Muhammed. He governed the country until October 1, 1979, when he handed over power to the civilian administration of President Shehu Shagari.
According to the 89-year-old elder statesman, he decided to leave the military and pursue agriculture after attaining the rank of a four-star general and becoming Head of State at the age of 42.
He explained that he considered his military career complete, having reached the highest possible rank and occupied the country’s highest political office at the time.
Obasanjo said his farming business was progressing successfully until his arrest under Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from November 17, 1993, until his death on June 8, 1998.
He alleged that Abacha wanted him eliminated because his continued freedom posed a threat to the military ruler’s political ambitions.
Recounting how he received the American offer, Obasanjo said the United States ambassador to Nigeria contacted him while he was travelling and informed him that Washington had offered him political asylum because of the likelihood of his arrest upon returning home.
However, he said he rejected the offer because he believed he had committed no offence that warranted fleeing his country.
Obasanjo said his international passport was subsequently seized when he returned to Nigeria. He then proceeded to his farm, where his security personnel informed him that government security operatives had surrounded the premises.
He further narrated how a police officer in plain clothes approached him and claimed that an Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) wanted him to come in for questioning.
Rejecting the approach, Obasanjo reportedly insisted that if the AIG wanted to speak with him, the officer should come personally.
He eventually drove himself to the police station, where the AIG informed him that he had received instructions to arrest the former Head of State.
Obasanjo also disclosed that former United States President Jimmy Carter intervened on his behalf by appealing to Abacha.
According to him, Carter’s intervention initially resulted in his being placed under house arrest after spending time in confinement at an undisclosed location.
However, he said the situation took another turn when security operatives arrived at about 1 a.m. while he was playing squash and took him away to prison.
Obasanjo described the experience as part of Abacha’s determination to prevent certain individuals from remaining free, saying the military ruler apparently felt insecure about their presence outside detention.
Abacha’s military administration was widely associated with political repression and the detention of perceived opponents.
Following Abacha’s death in June 1998, Obasanjo was released from prison. He subsequently contested and won the 1999 presidential election, becoming Nigeria’s first elected president under the Fourth Republic.
He was inaugurated on May 29, 1999, and served two terms in office before handing over power to his successor, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, in May 2007.
