By Kolawole Ojebisi
Former Nigeria’s President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said there are many similarities between his life and that of the recently deceased ex-US President, Jimmy Carter’s.
Obasanjo noted that these shared values and traits made forging a life-long relationship with Carter easy, while the later was alive.
The former president made this statement while delivering a tribute titled “Jimmy Carter: The Departure of a Titan” in honour of the late Nobel Peace Prize winner on Sunday.
The tribute was read during a memorial service at the Chapel of Christ the Glorious King within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta.
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.
The former president, however, humorously noted one distinction.
“He beat me though in one respect—there was a road to his settlement. There was no road to my village. We walked to every place or, at best, were carried on bicycles.”
Obasanjo also added that their shared military backgrounds further solidified their bond, as they first met when he served as Nigeria’s military Head of State.
The Octogenarian 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 during incarceration.
He 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.”
