Nigeria’s former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that former Ogun State governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, lacked full knowledge of the events that led to his emergence as president in 2003.
Obasanjo stated this in a lengthy letter addressed to Osoba, dated July 23, 2026, in response to the former governor’s account published in the Legal Observer of July 20.
In the letter, titled ‘Reply to Your Inaccurate Posture: How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003,’ the former president described Osoba’s account as inaccurate, far-fetched, and a distortion of historical facts, saying many of the discussions about his presidential journey were handled by senior leaders of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and Afenifere.
He faulted Osoba’s claims that he deceived leaders of the AD and Afenifere in the build-up to the 2003 general elections, maintaining that his political career has always been guided by openness, dialogue, and national interest.
He also knocked the former governor for describing him as deceitful, insisting that he had never deceived anyone in his political life.
‘I take strong and serious objection to your calling me a deceiver because I deceived nobody. I always presented my case and all issues as I had them and as I understood them, no matter whose ox was gored.
‘There were issues you did not know or understand because, as you pointed out, they were above your head.
‘They were handled by your elders in the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and Afenifere. And there were issues that you governors of the South-West kept away from me which normally should have been discussed or raised with me but were raised or discussed somewhere else.
‘I would not say that you were diabolical or deceitful. You chose what you would do and you did what you chose. Others could also choose differently,’ Obasanjo wrote.
He disclosed that after his release from prison, he was approached by several groups urging him to return to politics, naming delegations led by Lawan Katsina, the late Chief S.M. Afolabi, and Chief Martins Kuye among those that persuaded him to contest the presidency.
The former president gave an account of how the consultations led him to seek the views of prominent Nigerians across the South-West, North, and South-East before eventually choosing to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Obasanjo maintained that politics should never be driven by bitterness, recalling that despite opposition from Afenifere leaders, particularly the late Chief Abraham Adesanya, he continued to visit and engage them with respect.
He said, ‘On my being released from prison, for us to start from that point, many people came to congratulate me and started insinuating that I should have a role in government again. I paid no attention initially because I had serious family matters: my children’s schools to attend to.
‘Soon, groups started calling on me directly, not just to insinuate. The first group was led by Lawan Katsina to my Ota farm. I received them, thanked them, and promised to think about their invitation.
‘The second group was led by Chief S.M. Afolabi, who was Deputy Governor to Chief Bola Ige. The third group was led by Martins Kuye.
‘The last two groups were Yoruba-led, and I told them that the circle needed to be widened and enlarged. I believed that the two groups included Afenifere and non-Afenifere members. You did not know that I had these approaches, contacts, or invitations.
‘With these approaches, I decided to consult people in the South-West, East, and North. In the South-West, my first call was to Ibadan to consult Chief Akinloye, Chief Bola Ige, Chief Richard Akinjide, and Professor Oyeleye. In the North, I consulted two close friends, Sunday Awoniyi and Adamu Ciroma.
‘In the East, I consulted Professor Anezi Okoro and Arthur Mbanefo. That quick consultation was like a sounding board. It gave me a quick and good feel.
‘From that sounding, I decided to take an interest in what was going on in party formations and the special role that Bola Ige was playing at that time.
‘The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attracted my attention and interest, and I was being regularly briefed. After the formation of the parties, I formally joined the PDP. I continued my consultations and campaigns at the same time,’ he said.
Obasanjo revealed that Adesanya appealed to him to join the AD, but he rejected the proposal because he considered the party essentially regional in outlook.
‘I told him the AD, as essentially a tribal party, was in a cul-de-sac,’ Obasanjo stated, adding that his respect for Yoruba elders never diminished despite political disagreements.
The former president also recounted an encounter with the late Chief Bola Ige before the 1999 presidential election, saying efforts at political reconciliation never materialised despite earlier assurances.
He argued that after winning the presidency with about 63 per cent of the national vote despite losing much of the South-West, he deliberately sought to build bridges rather than pursue political vendettas.
Obasanjo said his decision to form what he described as a broad-based national government involving members of the AD was motivated by national unity and not political weakness.
The former president criticised Afenifere for what he described as its inability to rise above ethnic politics, insisting that his political philosophy had always been rooted in national integration rather than regional interests.
He wrote that before their deaths, some Afenifere leaders, including Chief Abraham Adesanya and Chief Ayo Adebanjo, expressed regrets over certain political positions taken by the group.
On the outcome of the 2003 governorship elections, which saw the PDP capture five of the six South-West states, Obasanjo maintained that the victories reflected genuine electoral success.
He, however, claimed that only the Lagos governorship election involved manipulation of results, citing information allegedly supplied to him by the then Lagos State Head of Service.
Obasanjo said he never harboured bitterness towards Osoba despite years of political disagreements, describing him as his brother.
He commended the former governor for allocating the land on which the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) is situated, saying the gesture was one of the greatest services rendered to him and to Abeokuta.
‘The allocation was made for the good of my programme and in the best interest of Abeokuta and indeed Ogun State. There was neither politics played nor any game in the process,’ he wrote.
Obasanjo concluded by urging Osoba to embrace humility, gratitude, and reconciliation, stressing that while politics may end, personal relationships should endure for life.