Obasanjo Says He Wouldn’t Have Chosen Atiku as Running Mate

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said he would not have picked the same running mate for the 1999 presidential election if he had known him better.

Obasanjo made this statement on Friday during a chat with veteran entertainer and activist Charles “Charly Boy” Oputa in Lagos. The conversation was part of the launch of the Charly Boy Foundation and the presentation of Oputa’s memoir, 999: A Memoir in Tribute to Late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, who is Charly Boy’s father.

Though Obasanjo did not mention Atiku Abubakar directly, he often referred to “my running mate,” “my number two,” and “my vice president.” Atiku was Obasanjo’s running mate in 1999 and served as vice president from 1999 to 2007.

The two won the 1999 presidential election under the Peoples Democratic Party and got a second term in 2003. However, their close political relationship later fell apart, leading to years of public disagreements and different stories about what happened during their time in office.

Looking back at his time in government, Obasanjo said some decisions that could have led to serious problems were avoided. He explained, “What I have found in my own life is that what could have been all my life mistakes that could have been fatal, God had taken care of them for me, mistakes when I was in government.”

He continued, “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. My vice president. I don’t know what name you want to give him, but my vice president. What I know about him later makes me thank God, because God did not allow his actions and reactions to overwhelm me.”

Obasanjo did not detail what specific actions or findings led to his change of heart. Even though he said he would have made a different choice, Obasanjo insisted that he has no bitterness about how their relationship turned out.

He expressed gratitude that their conflict did not distract him from his duties or stop him from meeting the goals of his administration. “Or to divert my own focus from Nigeria, or to harm Nigeria, even. And then there’s no bitterness, because, well, he did things that he believed he should do.

“God did the things that God had to do, which makes me able to achieve what I was able to achieve,” he added. Obasanjo and Atiku’s relationship has been a hot topic in Nigerian politics since they left office in 2007.

Their disagreements became public during the later years of their administration, with both men giving different accounts of their working relationship, political ambitions, and issues within the government. Obasanjo has criticized Atiku several times, while Atiku has also disputed some of Obasanjo’s claims about their time in office.

These latest comments come as the two politicians have been exchanging words again. Atiku recently accused Obasanjo of using old and questionable claims to damage his political image after Obasanjo revisited an allegation about an attempt to impeach him while they were in office.

Atiku argued that claims involving the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, could not be properly tested anymore because the key person involved in the story is dead. Obasanjo’s recent comments did not make any new allegations against Atiku. Instead, he repeated his long-held belief that, looking back, he would have made a different choice for running mate.