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Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo is a Nigerian politician, statesman, agriculturalist, and former army general who served as Nigeria's Military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 2007. Ideologically a Nigerian nationalist, he was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from 1998 to 2015, and since 2018.
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politics · Nigerian head of state (1976–79; 1999–2007) · engineer · military personnel · politician · also Olusegun Obasanjo, Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, Baba Iyabo, Baba Sege, President Obasanjo, President Olusegun Obasanjo
Born 5 March 1937 · Q202006
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“s special assistant, Femi Fani-Kayode, said Friday that it was not appropriate to comment on the bill before the debate was concluded but that the president was committed to working within the democratic process.”
“I am a village boy who did some things by accident.”
“Keep faith with Nigeria because there is no other country we can call our own.”
“I have nothing to offer Nigeria other than leadership.”
“Democracy is a continuous work in progress.”
“We cannot build a nation on injustice and inequality.”
“No nation has ever attained greatness without discipline.”
“Education remains the greatest investment any nation can make in its people.”
“Corruption is a cancer that has eaten deep into the fabric of our society.”
“Leadership is the greatest challenge to Africa's development.”
“I never toyed with the idea of a third term.”
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African Union: AUC Chairperson met today with H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and AU High Representative
Naija News: ‘This One Cannot Rule Nigeria’ – IBB Warns Obasanjo About Atiku
TheCable: 'This one cannot rule Nigeria' — Donald Duke reveals how IBB warned Obasanjo about Atiku
Naija News: Arewa Made Him President, He Could Not Win His Own State – Atiku Fires At Obasanjo
Naija News: Don’t Think You Will Get Away With It – Obasanjo Warns Failed Nigerian Leaders
The Guardian Nigeria News: Poor Leadership Driving Nigeria’s Economic Crisis, Insecurity – Obasanjo
Benin Web TV: "No African context, no African content": Olusegun Obasanjo questions the Western democratic model in Africa.
The Guardian Nigeria News: Obasanjo, Jonathan, others seek overhaul of Nigeria’s democracy, governance structure
Naija News: Nigeria’s Democracy Lacks African Context, Content – Obasanjo
The Guardian Nigeria News: Obasanjo, Obi question effectiveness of African democratic system
Public attention spiked: 4,198 Wikipedia readers in one day, 7.8× the usual 540, with 1 article edits. Editors noted: script-assisted date audit and style fixes per MOS:NUM
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Obasanjo was appointed as a mediator by the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo amid the M23 campaign (2022–present)
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AFP Fact Check rated the claim “Former Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo ‘storms’ poll centre with results” False.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
Obasanjo mediated peace talks between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front under the auspices of the African Union, culminating in a ceasefire of the Tigray War on 2 November 2022
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Africa Check rated the claim “The price of oil was lower when president Obasanjo and Abubakar assumed office on 29 May 1999 than it is today ...” Mostly correct.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
AFP Fact Check rated the claim “EFCC arrests Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan” False.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
Africa Check rated the claim “Nigeria’s former president Olusegun Obasanjo has suggested Nigeria is set to slide into a second civil war.” Misleading.
Shown as reported and rated by a fact checker, not as an established fact.
Awarded honorary fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (2011).
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The doctor, known only as 'AM', was sentenced to one year in jail for negligence in Spain and ordered to pay restitution to her son of about $176,000
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Awarded honorary doctor of the Peking University (2005).
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Career landmark: Chairperson of the African Union (2004–2006).
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And Obasanjo visited Washington DC in 2006
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And apologised for the excessive use of force
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Awarded honorary doctor of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (2001).
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“the nullification of all forms of identification except Nigerian citizenship”
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“a believer in market efficiency”
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Obasanjo declared himself "a believer in market efficiency" and related that he had seen the damage caused by "public sector mismanagement" first hand
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Stated that his long-term goal was "the nullification of all forms of identification except Nigerian citizenship"
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Obasanjo banned the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), a Yoruba nationalist group involved in violence against other ethnicities, and ordered the arrest of its leaders
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Obasanjo's government doubled the legal minimum wage
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Transparency International ranked it the world's most corrupt country
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Career landmark: President of Nigeria (1999–2007).
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To $43 billion on leaving office in 2007
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Awarded Indira Gandhi Peace Prize (1995).
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Was arrested and convicted of being part of a planned coup, despite protesting his innocence
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And 1995, he visited Burundi, where he worked to calm tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups
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Sani Abacha seized power in a military coup
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Obasanjo and Anthony Enahoro launched the Association for Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria
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His third book, Not My Will, was published
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Published Nzeogwu, a memoir of his friend Chukwuma Nzeogwu, with whom he had served in the Congo
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Co-chairman, Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa
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Obasanjo was a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Ibadan, where he wrote My Command, an account of his experiences during the civil war; it was published in November that year
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Initiating a warmer British approach to the white minority administrations of Rhodesia and South Africa
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Nigeria cut off oil supplies to the country to protest the execution of political opponents by Jerry Rawlings' new military junta
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It merged 42 unions into the single Nigerian Labour Congress
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It ceased issuing student loans and trebled university food and accommodation charges
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Career landmark: Chairperson of ECOWAS (1977–1979).
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Obasanjo barred any contractors with South African links from operating in Nigeria; the main companies that were hit were British Petroleum and Barclays Bank
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The UK and US drew up proposals for a transition to majority rule in Rhodesia, amid a period in which the country would be under the management of United Nations forces
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Persuaded Benin and Togo to end their border dispute and reopen their frontier
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Because of Carter's commitment to ensuring majority rule across southern Africa
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Married Stella Abebe in a traditional Yoruba ceremony
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Obasanjo's government also announced rent and price controls
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Obasanjo's government introduced legislation that defined most major industries as essential services, banned strikes within them, and authorised the detention of disruptive union leaders
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It considered suspending diplomatic relations with the UK, but ultimately did not
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Career landmark: President of Nigeria (1976–1979).
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Career landmark: Vice President of Nigeria (1975–1976).
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A military coup established a junta with Obasanjo as part of its ruling triumvirate
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Obasanjo went to the UK for a course at the Royal College of Defence Studies
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Registered a business, Temperance Enterprises Limited, through which he could embark on commercial ventures after retiring from the military
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Obasanjo bought a former Lebanese company in Ibadan, employing an agent to manage it
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Obasanjo was sent to India
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Obasanjo married his first wife, Oluremi Akinlawon, in London in 1963; she gave birth to his first child, Iyabo, in 1967.
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Was stationed at the Royal College of Military Engineering in England
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Obasanjo returned to Nigeria
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Answered an advert for officer cadet training in the Nigerian Army
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Obasanjo took his secondary school exams, having borrowed money to pay for the entry fees
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Transferred to the Baptist Boys' High School, also in the town
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Moved on to the Baptist Day School in Abeokuta's Owu quarter
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Born 1937-03-05.
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