PUNCH
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has hailed the late ex-U.S. President Jimmy Carter as a “humanist par excellence” and the only non-African leader who personally visited General Sani Abacha to plead for his release from prison.
Obasanjo, who served as Nigeria’s military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and later as a two-term civilian president from 1999 to 2007, recounted his experiences in a heartfelt tribute titled “Jimmy Carter: The Departure of a Titan”.
The tribute was read during a memorial service at the Chapel of Christ the Glorious King within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, on Sunday.
Obasanjo revealed that his imprisonment by Abacha’s military regime in 1995 stemmed from his vocal opposition to the dictatorship’s excesses.
Reflecting on Carter’s pivotal role, he stated, “President Carter was one of my foreign friends who stuck their necks out to save my life and to seek my release from prison. On President Carter’s visit to Nigeria, he got Abacha to agree to take me from detention to house arrest on my farm.
“But that did not last for too long. Many other friends and leaders intervened, but President Carter was the only non-African leader, according to my information, that paid a visit to Abacha solely to plead for my release.”
Obasanjo shared a personal connection with Carter, drawing parallels between their humble beginnings and the values instilled by their parents.
“He was born into a farming family in Plains, Georgia, and I was born into a farming family in the rural village of Ibogun-Olaogun in Ogun State.
“He grew up under a father and mother who were disciplinarians, who instilled in him discipline, morality, hard work, integrity, kindness, and humility. My parents inculcated similar attributes in me,” he continued…
Connect with us on our socials: