Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed regret in choosing a running mate in 1999.
The former president spoke at the National Exhibition and Awards organised by Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta on Saturday.
Obasanjo, who won the 1999 and 2003 presidential elections with Atiku Abubakar as running mate, said: “I don’t say I don’t make mistakes. I made many of them. But one thing that has happened to me is that God has never disappointed me. And that is very important.
“For instance, one of the mistakes I made was picking a number two (Atiku Abubakar) when I was going to become President. But because it was a genuine mistake, God saved me out of it.”
He further added: “The second one was when Abacha wanted to arrest me. When Abacha wanted to arrest me, I was told by the American ambassador that they will arrest me and that America has asked that I should be given asylum. I said no. It could have been a fatal mistake because I could have lost my life.
“I will say there are many things that could have been a mistake but God saved me from them all.”
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