Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has unleashed another blistering attack on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, declaring that choosing him as his running mate in the 1999 presidential election was the biggest mistake of his life.
Obasanjo made the explosive admission in Lagos at the unveiling of maverick entertainer and activist Charly Boy’s foundation and his memoir, 999: A Memoir in Tribute to Late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.
Asked to name the greatest mistake of his presidency, the former leader did not hesitate.
“The man I picked as my running mate, my number two — if I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him,” he said.
When Charly Boy pressed him on whether he was referring to Atiku, Obasanjo fired back: “My vice president. I don’t know what name you want to give him, but my vice president, I mean that.”
He repeated: “If I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him.”
Despite the harsh criticism, Obasanjo insisted he holds no grudge against his former deputy.
“Thank God his actions and reactions did not overwhelm me or divert my focus from Nigeria.
“There is no bitterness. He did what he believed he should do, and God did what He needed to do, which enabled me to achieve what I was able to achieve,” he said.
The latest outburst adds another chapter to the long-running feud between the two political heavyweights, whose once-close alliance collapsed during their second term in office between 2003 and 2007.
Obasanjo has made similar remarks before. In June 2022, he told students in Abeokuta that selecting Atiku as his deputy was one of the genuine mistakes of his public life.
“One of the mistakes I made was picking my Number Two when I wanted to become the president,” he said at the time, adding: “But because it was a genuine mistake, God saved me.”
The renewed attack comes just days after both men clashed over Obasanjo’s allegation that Atiku offered the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na’Abba, N5 million to orchestrate his impeachment ahead of the 2003 presidential election.
Atiku dismissed the claim as baseless and unfair, arguing that the late lawmaker was no longer alive to defend himself.
Beyond the political fireworks, Obasanjo also revisited the Nigerian Civil War, rejecting claims that it amounted to genocide.
“The civil war was traumatic to all Nigerians… it was bad for all Nigerians,” he said.
Recalling the battle for Owerri, the former military commander said he deliberately avoided bombing the city to spare innocent civilians.
“I did not drop a single bomb inside Owerri because it would have killed innocent civilians. I dropped my bombs short of Owerri and beyond Owerri to warn people that we were coming home,” he said.
Obasanjo also sought to end years of speculation over his ancestry, insisting both his parents were from Abeokuta.
“I still know our family house there,” he said.
The event attracted several prominent personalities, including former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, business mogul Leo Stan Ekeh, Dr Austin Tam-George, veteran broadcaster Bisi Olatilo and other dignitaries.
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