Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president of Nigeria, claimed on Saturday that everything about him, including his ascension to the positions of military Head of State and Nigerian President, came about by coincidence.

Before being elected as a civilian President in 1999, Obasanjo served as the Head of State of the military. He claimed that he chose to be a farmer rather than becoming one by accident.

Obasanjo said he was always proud to be referred to as a farmer during a live radio interview with Segun Odegbami on Eagles7 Sports 103.7 FM, Abeokuta, on Saturday.

“I don’t like the word you used, ‘romance with farming’. I am a farmer. What do you mean by romance? Everything I have done in my life is by accident. The only thing that is not accidental is farming. Every other thing that I’ve been is by accident. And you called that romance? No! What do you mean by romance?

“You know my beginning. I was born and bred in a village. I went to school by accident. My father just said, ‘won’t you do something different?’ So I went into farming”, the ex-president said.

“When you look at countries that have made it, they developed on agriculture. First, for the purpose of food security; second, for the purpose of processing what they get from their farms, which is the beginning of industrialisation. Third, to give it out as export, which is for the purpose of foreign exchange; and fourth, as a means of generating employment for the youth”, Obasanjo said.

Obasanjo pushed Nigerian youths to assume leadership roles immediately.

Young people shouldn’t let anyone refer to them as the leaders of tomorrow, according to Obasanjo, because that day may never arrive.

He stated that if the younger generation doesn’t stand up and take control of their destiny, some corrupt leaders would sabotage the so-called tomorrow.

He said, “My advice for Nigerian youths is that never let anybody tell you that you are the leaders of tomorrow. If you wait for tomorrow before you take over leadership, that tomorrow may not come. They will destroy it.

“This is the time, youths get up and make it happen.”

Joshua Ononose

Joshua is a multidisciplinary creative and tech enthusiast who seeks to create meaningful experiences that make for a better and more equal world. He is a creative entrepreneur and human rights activist whose work navigates socio-cultural discourse and how it can be used as a vehicle for change.