Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said he did not plan to be a politician but became one by accident.
The ex-President said this while addressing a group of youths, under the aegis of Africa for Africa Youth Initiative (A4A), at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
He said the love he has for his people and humanity made him join politics.
Obasanjo advised all politicians to aspire for political positions to serve the people.
“Politics is about service. You must give service. Nobody is too old or too young or too poor to give service. When we begin to give quality service, then we shall have qualitative governance,” he said.
Commenting on recent coup d’etats in some African countries, the former President noted that any condition that encourages such occurrences on the continent should be avoided as much as possible.
“The rising cases of military coups in Africa show that the people are tired of some things in their countries and in need of liberators,” Obasanjo added.
The former military and civilian leader said he would not support a coup d’etat, considering his experience in the hands of a former Head of State, the late General Sani Abacha.
He urged governments of various African countries, including Nigeria, to ensure they do not push the youths to the point of preferring a military take-over to civilian administration.
“The point is: do we have conditions that encourage the type of things that are happening? If we don’t have the conditions that encourage them, they may not happen.
“That does not mean it should be encouraged. What it means is that we should make sure that we do everything to prevent military take-overs from happening.
“When you see things that happen in many countries, and I will not exclude Nigeria, then you wonder. But don’t forget particularly the youths; they support most of these military take-overs,” he said.
A4A Director Henry Akasisli said the group’s visit to Obasanjo had rekindled their passion and drive to take the African continent to the next level.
“Our visit to former President Obasanjo has been a major eye-opener. We have seen things. It is re-awakening,” he said.
