Obasanjo Says He Chose The Best Successor

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, ex-president of Nigeria, has said that his choice of successor was not poor.

Former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo

Obasanjo made this known during the exclusive interview granted to the Channels Television at his residence in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun state.

He said late president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was the best among those who wanted succeeding him.

Obasanjo called on those who felt he had poor judgment in choice of his replacement to “wait for their time” and see if they would be capable to do better.

He added that he could stand “before God and man” to show that he did his best for Nigeria.

Obasanjo said: “With all the people that are available, for successor, what we came up with was about the best that, at that time we could think of.”

“Even if you take your son as your successor, you are not sure of what he will do when he gets there. Don’t ever kid yourself.

“What do I know about any successor? What he presents. When he gets there he presents it differently.

“We did our best, but if you say our best is not good enough, I will say, when it comes to your turn, do better.”

Former president added that he had to turn down “a very corrupt person” who asked him for the job.

“Is it the one that we know are corrupt that we will now go and take? No,” Obasanjo said.

“If I give the job to the corrupt, will I be able to defend myself before God and man?”

It should be noted that some of those who intended to succeed OBJ comprise his vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, Mohamed Marwa, Peter Odili.

Yar’Adua took office in 2007 in an election mired in controversy and accusations of vote-rigging.

He had died in 2010 after more than five months of battling with a heart condition.