Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday revealed that under his regime as Nigeria’s military Head of State, late United States President Jimmy Carter could not do anything in Africa without his knowledge. It was, apparently, a veiled remark on the ongoing controversy over President Donald Trump’s military invasion threat against Nigeria.
In a series of posts on X between October 31 and November 1, Trump had condemned continued killings targeting Christians in Nigeria, declaring America’s readiness to send its military to Nigeria if the federal government failed to stop the killings by jihadist groups.
His position had sparked divergent reactions from both the federal government and prominent Nigerian leaders and religious organisations.
The federal government, particularly, rejected Trump’s allegations, insisting that the country’s insecurity affects all religious groups.
Speaking on Monday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during the Presidential Youth Mentorship Retreat (6.0) organised by the Youth Development Centre, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Obasanjo did not make a direct statement on the ongoing controversy, but he tactfully recalled how the US under Carter held Nigeria in high esteem.
Obasanjo and Carter, who died in December 2024, were regarded as best of friends.
In January this year, Obasanjo held a memorial service in Abeokuta in honour of Carter, where he paid glowing tribute to the late US President who died at age 100.
According to Obasanjo, right from independence, the world and, indeed, America saw Nigeria as Africa’s leader, saying the country lost the confidence at some point before the Murtala-Obasanjo military regime “brought it back”.
Going down memory lane, Obasanjo said Carter, as US President, would not do anything on African soil without informing the Nigerian government, when he was Head of State.
“They were not taking permission from us but they will tell us that ‘they are doing this,’” Obasanjo recalled.
He said, “When I was president and Head of State, three American presidents came to Nigeria. They have not lost anything that they were looking for in Nigeria. What did they see? At Independence, the world saw Nigeria as a giant coming up. Soon after independence, we lost that. When Murtala and I came into government, we brought it back.
“The Americas saw that there was a possibility of Nigeria being Africa’s leader and we were on the way. When I was military head of state, President Jimmy Carter was the president of America, he would not do anything in Africa without informing us. They were not taking permission from us but they will tell us that ‘they are doing this.’”
He also recalled that a couple of the then under 40 military leaders, including himself, were always driven by the belief that Africa and Nigeria must be liberated.
Obasanjo said, “We were young. We were idealistic and we knew what we wanted for Nigeria. It was not about money. We were young, we were all under 40, all of us. We were probably a bit naïve, too. But our ambition is not money.”
The retreat, with the theme, “Africa and the Conflicts in Europe and the Middle East,” attracted participating youths from across Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
During the mentorship session, Obasanjo challenged African youths to be positively disruptive in order to take their rightful positions in leadership across the continent.
Citing examples of sit-tight syndrome in Africa, Obasanjo told the youths to see themselves as leaders of today and not leaders of tomorrow.
He said, “You are leaders of today because if you leave tomorrow in the hands of leaders who are there today, they will destroy it, you won’t have your tomorrow. You can see that happening almost everywhere.
“Cameroon just had an election. My brother, Paul Biya is 92. So, what are you going to do with the youths, or are there no youths in Cameroon?
“Here (referring to Nigeria), we have NotTooYoungToRun and they even made it into law. Those who made it into law are 80 years old and they are still running. When will you have the opportunity to run? Like I said to you on Monday, you have to be positively disruptive and I mean that.
“Look, if three people are sitting and two of them start to press the one in the middle, when it becomes uncomfortable for him, it is either he yields the space or allows them to share. You have to be positively disruptive; otherwise, you will have no role to play.”
Obasanjo asked the youth to leverage their population to take over leadership positions.
“You have the number, but the number will only matter when you use the number to your advantage,” he said.
The elder statesman, however, expressed concern that some youths in government had “not proven that youths can be absolutely trusted.”
Since Obasanjo left power, no US President has stepped his feet on Nigerian soil.
