Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said he made a mistake with his choice of running mate during his second stint as leader of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007.
Obasanjo led Nigeria twice as military head of state from 1975 – 1979 and as democratically elected president during return to civil rule in 1999.
Speaking while addressing students from secondary school at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State, he disclosed that he had made many “genuine mistakes” in his life; saying, however, that God made him overcome them.
“One of the mistakes I made was picking my number two when I wanted to become the president. But because it was a genuine mistake, God saved me,” Obasanjo said.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, was Obasanjo’s second-in-command from 1999 to 2007.
While in office, the duo of Obasanjo and Atiku were constantly at loggerheads a situation that nearly jeopardised Obasanjo’s re-election bid in 2003.