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Obasanjo denies ever seeking tenure extension
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He says debt relief harder than securing third term
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He warns leaders against clinging to power
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed claims that he attempted to extend his presidency beyond the constitutional two terms, insisting he never pursued such ambition.
Obasanjo, speaking on Wednesday at the Democracy Dialogue hosted by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, described the allegation as baseless, stressing that no evidence exists to support it.
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“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,” Obasanjo declared.
The former president argued that securing debt relief for Nigeria during his administration was a much tougher task than pushing for tenure elongation.
“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.
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Obasanjo also cautioned African leaders against overstaying in power, warning that such behaviour stems from arrogance and 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,” he 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.”
The remarks come amid rising concerns over sit-tight leadership across Africa, where several presidents have manipulated constitutions to remain in power.
