Outspoken Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo, says that he was jailed by the General Dani Abachs led military regime for refusing to keep quiet on national and international issues.
Obasanjo in a statement this Friday by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, after hosting youths under the aegis of the Future Africa Leaders Foundation, described his imprisonment as one of the life challenges he faced.
According to him, he decided to run for presidency in 1999, because he had a desire to save Nigeria from disintegration.
Obasanjo described his imprisonment as one of the life challenges he faced, attributing it to his refusal to remain silent on pressing issues.
“I joined the army and retired at 42, but I was still young, energetic, and dynamic. So, I took up agriculture. During that time, I was imprisoned, something I didn’t want.
“Going to prison is a challenge, but I ended up there because I refused to keep quiet. For me, if there was something to comment on, I spoke out, and that landed me in prison,” the former President noted.
He made it clear that he decided to run for presidency in 1999, because he had a desire to save Nigeria from disintegration.
“When I came out, the situation in the country was so dire that some people felt it needed saving, and pressure mounted on me to intervene, ” the no nonsense leader popularly known as OBJ stated.
