A former President, Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo,
revealed on Saturday that
the late dictator, Gen. Sani
Abacha wanted him, the
late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua
and the June 12 hero, the
late Moshood Abiola, dead
while in prison.
He stated this at a dinner
programme organised by
an inter-denominational
Christian organisation,
Christ The Redeemer’s
Friends International of
the Redeemed Christian
Church of God, Lagos
Province 39 Chapter.
The former president
alleged that Yar’Adua was
poisoned by Abacha’s
killer squad, adding that
he was to be next victim,
but that he was saved by
God’s divine grace.
Obasanjo said, “Two
people had earlier told
me Abacha promised that
three of us would not
come out of prison or
detention alive; myself.
Shehu Yar Adua and MKO
Abiola. And two of them
did not come out alive. So,
that I came out alive,
maybe God has a purpose.
And therefore if the
purpose is for me to serve
the people and by so
doing, serve God, then so
be it.
“Abacha claimed that I
was plotting a coup. I
wasn’t the first to be
arrested. When Shehu
(Yar’Adua) was arrested, I
tried to plead for his
release. When Abacha said
he didn’t know about
Shehu’s arrest, I said to
him, ‘the number two
man in this country
cannot be arrested
without you knowing.’ He
then said he would go
and find out.
“In Abacha’s plan, he left
God out of it and because
he left God out of his plan,
it (his government)
eventually failed. There is
God’s hand in the life of
each and every one of us
and every institution. I
believe that very well.
“When I was arrested,
they took me to a house
in Ikoyi (Lagos) and that
became my abode (I was)
in isolation, for three
months.
“In the meantime, there
were national and
international pressures for
my release, (former US)
President Jimmy Carter
was one of the world
leaders that came to ask
for my release. Some
African leaders like Yoweri
Museveni and Robert
Mugabe came. I believe it
was because of those
pressures that I was
released from isolation in
Ikoyi where I was under
house arrest.”
Obasanjo described the
day he was court-
martialled and sentenced
as one of the ‘worst days
in his life.’
He said, “I must say that,
that day, in a split second,
it felt like the worst day in
my life. What flashed
through my mind was
that I was forever ruined.
I asked myself, ‘What did I
do to deserve this? Is this
what I get for serving
Nigeria?’ But then, I told
myself again that this was
not done to me by
Nigeria, but that one man
did it for me.”
Obasanjo said he and
Yar’Adua were detained in
Jos and Port Harcourt
prisons because they
were the best prisons in
the country at the time.
He said, “I was to go to
Jos (prison) and Yar’Adua
was to go to Port
Harcourt (prison). In Jos, I
was visited by my
colleagues, including
Yakubu Danjuma, Joe
Garba, Domkat Bali, many
of our colleagues, and
then family members and
friends.
“Then a decision was
made that I was
becoming too popular in
Jos prison and I had to be
transferred to. Yola prison
which is a native
authority prison and I
don’t need to tell you
what life was there.
“In Jos prison, before I
was transferred to Yola
prison, they had decided
that Shehu Yar’Adua and
myself should be
poisoned. So, they took
him from Port Harcourt
prison to Abakaliki. In the
process, he was injected
with the virus that killed
him. The same was
supposed to be done to
me. The man who came
took me from the prison
to a guest house in the
GRA in Jos, said, ‘We know
you have problem with
cholesterol so I have to
take your blood for a test.’
Then I said, ‘Not on your
life, I don’t have any
problem of cholesterol.’
“I was slightly diabetic.
But God had taken care of
it because I was checking
my blood sugar almost on
a daily basis and it had
become better than
normal. So, I refused him
(the man) touching me
with anything. So, they
took me to Yola and he
said, ‘when you get to
where you are going, we
will come again.’”
The former president said
he was saved from being
poisoned by a doctor and
specialist in the prison.
“The doctor was a
professional man in
charge of the General
Hospital in Yola. He
listened to my case that I
needed special food
because I was diabetic. He
said the specialist would
come to see me. The
specialist turned out to be
somebody from Okeogun
in Oyo State. Two, he was
a Baptist, and three, he
had heard about me and
knew me. So, he looked at
me and said, ‘Don’t let
anybody touch you with
anything.’
“Within three weeks the
man that came to me
earlier returned again and
said he wanted to take
my blood. I said, ‘No, you
have to get my doctor to
come and take my blood
for you.’ That was the
arrangement between me
and the doctor. And my
doctor came and he
brought a syringe and he
took my blood and gave
it to him. He now asked
the man, ‘When would we
have the result?’The man
said, ‘Within 24 hours of
my getting to Abuja.’I
haven’t heard the result
till today.”
Obasanjo said after his
release from prison, he
gave into pressure to
contest for the presidency
and he ended up
becoming president for
two terms by the grace of
God. “Nigeria that was a
pariah state became a
darling (of the world).
“What is the lesson for
me? I developed in prison
but unfortunately I was
not able to sustain it.
Maybe because there was
nothing else to do in
prison except to pray and
fast. I used to fast a lot.
On three occasions, I
fasted for seven days, no
water, no food… a unique
power was given to me
by God.
“In all these, God did not
leave me alone, and I
know that. I say to people
that God has never let me
alone nor disappointed
me in spite of all. I am a
sinner. It is not because of
my goodness, but because
of the grace of God, and
the grace of God
continues to abound.”

God is indeed a merciful God.

Thank God