Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has recounted how he ventured into farming after retiring from the Nigerian Army, only to be arrested and imprisoned under the regime of former military Head of State, late General Sani Abacha.
Obasanjo also disclosed that he rejected an offer of political asylum from the United States despite being warned that he would be arrested if he returned to Nigeria.
The former president made the revelations while recounthis experience under Abacha’s regime in a video published by BBC News Pidgin on Tuesday.
Obasanjo, who became Nigeria’s military Head of State following the assassination of General Murtala Muhammed in February 1976, said he decided to venture into agriculture after retiring from the military at the age of 42.
According to him, having attained the rank of a four-star general and served as Head of State, he believed he had reached the peak of his military career and needed to pursue another interest.
He explained that farming became his next venture and was progressing successfully until his arrest under Abacha.
Obasanjo said he was unaware that Abacha allegedly wanted him eliminated, adding that the American ambassador in Nigeria informed him that the US government had offered him political asylum because of the danger awaiting him if he returned home.
However, he rejected the offer, insisting that he had committed no offence that warranted fleeing his country.
He subsequently returned to his farm after his passport was seized.
Recounting how his arrest unfolded, Obasanjo said his security detail informed him that government security operatives had surrounded his farm.
He said a policeman dressed in mufti later approached him, claiming that an Assistant Inspector-General of Police had invited him.
Obasanjo insisted that if the AIG wanted to see him, he should come personally rather than send someone to invite him.
He eventually drove himself to the police station, where the AIG informed him that he had been instructed to arrest him.
The former president also recalled how former US President Jimmy Carter intervened on his behalf by appealing to Abacha.
According to him, the intervention initially resulted in his being placed under house arrest.
However, he said security operatives later took him away in the middle of the night while he was playing squash at about 1 a.m., after which he was transferred to prison.
Obasanjo was eventually released following Abacha’s death in June 1998.
He subsequently contested and won the 1999 presidential election, becoming Nigeria’s first elected president of the Fourth Republic.
He served two terms in office, leaving power in May 2007.
