By KIKELOMO IWAJOMO




Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo is the first child of former president of Nigeria, His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR. At 49, there is no gainsaying that she is one of Africa's most successful women. She had her first degree in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Ibadan; master's in Preventive Veterinary Medicine at the University of California; and PhD in Epidemiology at Cornell University. Today, Iyabo Obasanjo is a professor, epidemiologist, global health expert, veterinary physician, policy analyst, researcher, former senator. Currently lecturing Global Health at the Virginia Military Institute in the United States of America (USA), the renowned scientist took a rare break from her busy schedule to grant this exclusive interview with Dawn-To-Dusk News’ Chief Editor, KIKELOMO IWAJOMO, on her success story, her parents’ influence, and governance in Nigeria. Excerpts:



You are a professor, epidemiologist, global health expert, veterinary physician, policy analyst, researcher, former senator. With your many achievements, my question for you is this, what did you do differently that has made you stay successful?

First, you need to get the best education that your intellect and ability can afford you, and then you lay the foundation for continued success. You can always go back to your education and let it feed you. Your motivation in life will be very different from people that don't have alternatives. You have alternatives and the way you live your life then shows that. So wherever you are, you might not be able to get the best education that is available to the world because of limited resources, but get the best education that you can get based on everything you have. For you to do that, always work hard in whatever you do. Challenges will come along the way but always take the lessons, and do the next thing. That`s why you have to prepare yourself early so that whatever comes, life may take you on but you can always push yourself up, then move to another level because that to me is life: you can always find a different direction to go. I have been very lucky in my life that when I want to change directions, I am able to do that.



Serving as a politician, your careers as a scientist, and analyst, which is(was) the most challenging?

I think for me the most challenging was the period of eight years I was in Nigeria in government. I think you can write a book on governors in Nigeria. I had campaigned with this governor and later realized that it was not what I signed up for. But I liked the job. I liked meeting the people, interacting with them and helping them. I did not enjoy managing the governor. That was a disappointment.
Then I interacted with some people at the national level, and thought serving as a senator would help with solving the country’s problems, but what I saw at the senate was worse. As a commissioner, I probably saved people’s lives but as a senator I didn’t see that happening. The fact that everybody at the Senate was working for themselves, I just felt that I was a stranger in the wilderness. That was depressing for me. I did not want to go for re-election but that's a story for another day. So being a politician was the most challenging and I will never do it again.




What qualities have you taken from your father?

My father is very intelligent and I tell people this. I have met many intelligent people throughout my life. I have met some of the world leaders that we all know and they are smart. I think, my father is one of the smartest people of this generation anywhere and he's almost 80. He is also not materialistic. He looks at problems and tries to solve them, which is what leadership in Africa lacks. When he made decisions, he might have made the wrong ones sometimes, but they were all in the interest of the country. His ego may be a big issue but in terms of money and material things, he doesn't really care.


I think we are both very outspoken, frank and we can rationalize issues and think them through. It means a lot. I think that I grew up in an environment where your ability to solve problems, read a lot and understand situations were very important. I didn't grow up thinking that money was the most important thing in life. I didn’t grow up thinking that your parents’ money made you special or different. I grew up with the idea that solving problems makes this world a better place.



I have met some eminent Nigerians who are of the view that your father is the best president Nigeria has ever had? Do you agree with them?

Given the history of Nigeria, for even Africa in general, my father is exceptional. I think he is the best. There is no doubt about that because we have really had bad leadership. A few of our presidents shouldn’t have been made to even run a nursery school let alone a country. So, we have had that problem. I have mentioned already, my father is not greedy or selfish. I agree my father is the best because he was the only one trying to solve problems. He couldn’t solve every one of them but he is the only leader apart from maybe the ones in the early 1960's. What messed up his leadership was his ego. You can understand the ego if you are that smart in a country that has some leaders who are morons.




For the full interview, visit: http://dawntodusknews.com/iyabo-obasanjo-father-best-president-nigeria-ever/

FTC things as usual

Iyabo obasanjo u are like ur father maybe even worse.

Your father is part of the people that spoilt nigeria except for the fact that he brought GSM to us nothing else him do for us



Lalasticlala come and see o

Because he brought mobile phones to Nigeria??

*I didn't read the post. Today is Saturday, it's meant to be stress free*

Only a man from ogun state can make nigeria great... A man like PYO bt with his rank he cant do jack

Iyabo Obasanjo kuma Hope my eyes are not deceiving me

Anyway in psychology,when a man gets closer to the grave he strives to reconcile with all. I guess this is a result of such move behind the scene.

Is this not the same woman who took his father to the cleaners publicly?

In actuality your father is part of Nigeria problems.

OK! Na like this them teach you to take make peace with your father? Kwontinue

OBJ performer was wonderful...

Adonblivt. Take this OP

She is 'entitled' to her opinion, what still baffles me is how a 'woman' can look so much like her father, almost a carbon copy type of resemblance...........

yeyeboi:
FTC things as usual

Iyabo obasanjo u are like ur father maybe even worse.

Your father is part of the people that spoilt nigeria except for the fact that he brought GSM to us nothing else him do for us



Lalasticlala come and see o

Obasanjo did not bring GSM to Nigeria the mobile phone companies did.

Obasanjo has a few credible achievements notable among them is the pension reform,the creation of EFCC,payment of national debt and boosting the foreign reserves. He gave his successors something to build on
With regret and respect I must say those who say Obasanjo brought GSM to Nigeria are lazy and refuse to think for themselves. GSM is a technology that is market driven and its time had come that is why it came to Nigeria and virtually the whole world. As with most new technologies its initial price was high and then it fell and spread around the world. If Presidents are to take credit for technology then we must start list those who
1. Brought roads to Nigeria
2. Brought television to Nigeria
3. Brought Aeroplanes to Nigeria
4. Brought electricity to Nigeria
5. Brought the motorcar to Nigeria
6. Brought Toothbrushes to Nigeria
7. Brought ATM to Nigeria
8. Brought Ebola to Nigeria
9. Brought kidnapping to Nigeria
10 Brought Bread to Nigeria
11. Brought the electric Iron to Nigeria
12. Brought Football to Nigeria

and so on

I have never heard this in another country that politicians claim credit for commercial technology they had no role in developing

I won't be surprised if police starts arresting people that wear any other colour other than green and white. #buharisregime

That man tried ni o... How I wish the current man can do even 0.5% of what OBJ did. He assembled a team of technocrats and delivered good governance despite some short comings as the man he is.

omonnakoda:
Obasanjo did not bring GSM to Nigeria the mobile phone companies did.

Obasanjo has a few credible achievements notable among them is the pension reform,the creation of EFCC,payment of national debt and boosting the foreign reserves. He gave his successors something to build on
With regret and respect I must say those who say Obasanjo brought GSM to Nigeria are lazy and refuse to think for themselves. GSM is a technology that is market driven and its time had come that is why it came to Nigeria and virtually the whole world. As with most new technologies its initial price was high and then it fell and spread around the world. If Presidents are to take credit for technology then we must start list those who
1. Brought roads to Nigeria
2. Brought television to Nigeria
3. Brought Aeroplanes to Nigeria
4. Brought electricity to Nigeria
5. Brought the motorcar to Nigeria
6. Brought Toothbrushes to Nigeria
7. Brought ATM to Nigeria
8. Brought Ebola to Nigeria
9. Brought kidnapping to Nigeria
10 Brought Bread to Nigeria

and so on

I have never heard this in another country that politicians claim credit for commercial technology they had no role in developing

My brother any way you want to put it, even if u sey na him fly the plane wey carry GSM come nigeria atleast na for him administration them bring am.


Efcc we all know are complete failour we all know that one.

yeyeboi:



My brother any way you want to put it, even if u sey na him fly the plane wey carry GSM come nigeria atleast na for him administration them bring am.


Efcc we all know are complete failour we all know that one.

Yes something new has happened in every single administration and no one has claimed any of those things. There is no other country where presidents claim to have brought mobile phones to their country . We do not hear Americans or French or Togolese saying such and such brought mobile phone.
Who brought Indomie? Who brought The motorcar who brought DVDs, who brough flushing toilets. who brought electric fans. Who brought radio? Who brought TV broadcasting. Who brought landline telephones
Did those things not come in somebody else's administration.?
Why not credit him for bringing Boko Haram or Kidnapping

omonnakoda:
Yes something new has happened in every single administration and no one has claimed any of those things. There is no other country where presidents claim to have brought mobile phones to their country . We do not hear Americans or French or Togolese saying such and such brought mobile phone.
Who brought Indomie? Who brought The motorcar who brought DVDs, who brough flushing toilets. who brought electric fans. Who brought radio? Who brought TV broadcasting. Who brought landline telephones
Did those things not come in somebody else's administration.?
Why not credit him for bringing Boko Haram or Kidnapping

You have a point bros I hope by the time Nigerians will be ready for revolution I will see you at the front line

Be quiet ma'am

Madam where av u been since?

Ode To me, I pick yar'adua

Since I became conscious of my environment and the leadership of this country, Obasanjo (1999-2007) remains the most experienced and committed head of state that I have seen. His administration remain by far the most productive and unifying in the last 30 years. However, I am still very optimistic about the current Buhari administration though.

She don reconcile with her Pupsy ne?

I think she is high on something.....your father killed this country!

Stupid woman!! Your Father was a thief... if not greater than Abacha sef..

How could a sitting president own....
A private university
A private Farm

May God punish your father excepts he repents and forsake his evil ways. ..

Tomorrow, Zahra can come and say Buhari was the best, Jonathan's daughter can also say he is the best....

well if you say so for some reason i will agree with



what of YARADUA?
That is the main man before them .........

I concur even with the third term thing.

Obj is not perfect and he is also corrupt.

But I personally like his leadership.

He is one leader who doesn't share religious or tribal sentiments and many Yorubas don't like him for this

Obj is practical. He's a kind of leader that will not allow his security details touch you if you abuse him. He will simply abuse his own back

Among all the leaders we have had in the past 20 years, he is the most versatile and well read. That's why his words still draws attention. (Not by PhD)

He grew to be a better strategist and schemer. He gainsayed IBB and GEJ. You cannot fight him and win except God dey your side.

Obj is so crazy that he knows how to shut a white man up.

Hate or love it, he left Nigeria in a better condition than he met it; than Gej himself left it

As corrupt as he was, he left 45 billion dollars in the reserves with about 3 billion dollars debt

He had the best hands in picking technocrats, some of those we still laud today.

As bad as OBJ was, I saw civil servants who never thought of buying a motorbike as at 1999 become home owners and ride in their own cars by 2007. A lot of teachers fall in this category.


Well these are some of what I respect about this man despite his myriads of mistakes which includes GEJ.

K

Jokerman:
Stupid woman!! Your Father was a thief... if not greater than Abacha sef..

How could a sitting president own....
A private university
A private Farm

May God punish your father excepts he repents and forsake his evil ways. ..

Tomorrow, Zahra can come and say Buhari was the best, Jonathan's daughter can also say he is the best....

punish your head also,how much was fuel sold during his tenure,what was the exchange rate of dollars/naira,Nigeria economy was doing great.
Obasanjo remains the best president Nigeria ever had

smh