Obasanjo: I Never Sought Third Term, Could Have Achieved It If I Wanted

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed persistent claims that he attempted to extend his stay in office beyond the constitutionally allowed two terms, insisting he never pursued such an agenda.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Obasanjo maintained that no evidence exists to back the speculation.

“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I 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,” the former leader declared.

Obasanjo argued that the debt relief secured for Nigeria during his administration was a far more challenging feat than seeking 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 got it too,” he added.

He further cautioned against the tendency of some leaders to cling to power, describing it as a false sense of indispensability.

“I know that the best is done when you are young, ideal and 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,” Obasanjo 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.”