Former Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has disclosed that when Gen Olusegun Obasanjo came to see him after his release from prison in 1998, he advised him point-blank to abandon the idea of contesting the presidential election.
He said he told him at the time to go home, thank God he was alive, and forget about becoming President.
Abdulsalami also revealed that at the same meeting, he talked Obasanjo out of filing a lawsuit against the Federal Government over his wrongful imprisonment, warning him that the court process was uncertain and offering instead to explore compensation for the collapse of his business during his years in detention.
The accounts are contained in Chapter 22 of Abdulsalami’s 264-page, 27-chapter autobiography titled ‘Call of Duty,’ obtained by our correspondent at the public presentation of the book at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
The presentation was held to mark the former Head of State’s 84th birthday and was attended by President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima as the special guest of honour.
Describing the encounter, Adulsalami wrote that Obasanjo came to him with two issues after his release: his intention to sue the government and the invitation from the Peoples Democratic Party to contest the presidency.
“I was forthright with him. One, I advised him that he should not take the government to court because it might not augur well.
“For one, he would not know how long it would take the court to give judgment. I told him that, as a government, we would try to see what could be done about his business in the form of compensation.
“The court process was uncertain, I told him. I tried to dissuade him from pursuing the litigation option, and he agreed with me,” he wrote.
Abdulsalami continued, “On the invitation by the PDP that he should run in the presidential race, I advised him to return home and thank God that he was still alive after all he had gone through in four years. I told him point-blank that he should forget about contesting to be President.
“He took a deep sigh and said he was going to think about it and revert. He never got back to me. He can confirm this encounter.”
The former head of state argued that the fact that Obasanjo ultimately contested and won the election should not be taken as evidence that his administration was behind the candidacy.
“I tell people till today that my administration had nothing to do with the presidential ambition of General Obasanjo.
“It may be hard to believe, but we did not endorse him, and we did not work for him. It was a conjecture.”
