Later Career and Presidency
In 1995, Obasanjo was imprisoned on fabricated charges of plotting a coup to depose General Sani Abacha. He was released only after Abacha’s sudden death on 8 June 1998. While in prison, Obasanjo became a born-again Christian.
In 1999, Olusegun Obasanjo became President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The 29th of May, 1999, the day Obasanjo took the oath of office as the first elected civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule, is now commemorated as Democracy Day. A public holiday in Nigeria.
The Olusegun Obasanjo administration initiated and executed projects that positively impacted the lives of Nigerians irrespective of their status. They included the Poverty Eradication Program, the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission to facilitate the provision of more infrastructure and social services in the oil producing communities of the Niger Delta, Universal Basic Education and the general improvement of infrastructure. These were aimed at changing the economic, educational and political development of deprived Nigerians.
Obasanjo was re-elected in 2003 in a landslide victory defeating General Buhari and Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu.
Post Presidency
In 2008, Obasanjo was appointed by the United Nations as a special envoy for Africa and has since overseen democratic elections on behalf of the African Union and Ecowas in countries across the continent.
Obasanjo is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), an independent authority on Africa launched in April 2007 to focus world leaders’ attention on delivering their commitments to the continent. The Panel launched a major report in London on Monday, June 16, 2008, entitled Africa’s Development: Promises and Prospects.
He is also a member of Club de Madrid, an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Its members are over 100 former democratically elected Presidents and Prime Ministers from more than 60 countries.
Olusegun Obasanjo’s Personal Life: Wives And Children
Obasanjo was married three times. First to Mrs. Oluremi Obasanjo, who is the mother of his oldest children, the most well-known of them being Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, a former Senator of Ogun State.
His second marriage was to Lynda Obasanjo, who was fatally shot when armed men ordered her out of her car in 1987.
His third marriage was to Stella Obasanjo, who served as the First Lady of Nigeria. She died after a cosmetic surgery procedure in Spain in 2005.
Obasanjo’s other prominent children include Dare Obasanjo, a Principal Program Manager for Microsoft and Adeboye Obasanjo, a Lieutenant Colonel at the 3rd Division in Jos, Plateau State.
See Also: Nigerian Civil War With Biafra: The Untold Story
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