A former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Saturday, revealed how he escaped death from the late dictator, General Sani Abacha.
He made this disclosure at a dinner programme organised by an inter-denominational Christian organisation, Christ The Redeemerâs Friends International of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Lagos Province, 39 Chapter.
Obasanjo while narrating his ordeal said: âTwo 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.
âAbacha claimed that I was plotting a coup. I wasnât the first to be arrested. When Shehu (YarâAdua) was arrested, I tried to plead for his release. When Abacha said he didnât know about Shehuâs arrest, I said to him, âthe number two man in this country cannot be arrested without you knowing.â He then said he would go and find out.
âIn Abachaâs plan, he left God out of it and because he left God out of his plan, it (his government) eventually failed. There is Godâs hand in the life of each and every one of us and every institution. I believe that very well.
âWhen I was arrested, they took me to a house in Ikoyi (Lagos) and that became my abode (I was) in isolation, for three months.
âIn 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.â
Obasanjo described the day he was court-martialled and sentenced, as one of the âworst days in his life.â
He said: âI 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, âWhat did I do to deserve this? Is this what I get for serving Nigeria?â But then, I told myself again that this was not done to me by Nigeria, but that one man did it for me.â
He added: âI was to go to Jos (prison) and YarâAdua 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.
âThen 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 donât need to tell you what life was there.
âIn Jos prison, before I was transferred to Yola prison, they had decided that Shehu YarâAdua 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, âWe know you have problem with cholesterol, so I have to take your blood for a test.â Then I said, âNot on your life, I donât have any problem of cholesterol.â
âI was slightly diabetic. But God had taken care of it, because I was checking my blood sugar almost on a daily basis, and
