Olusegun Obasanjo Biography
Chief Olusegun Matthew Aremu Obasanjo (born March 5, 1937) is a well-known Nigerian political and military leader, author, statesman, and agriculturist.
He was the Nigerian Head of State from 1976 to 1979. He was a retired General in the Nigerian Army. From 1999 to 2007, he was the Fourth Republic’s first democratically elected president.
From 1998 to 2015, Olusegun Obasanjo was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and since 2018, he has been a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
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| Full Name: | Olusegun Matthew Aremu Okikiola Ogunboye Obasanjo |
| Stage Name: | Olusegun Obasanjo |
| Born: | 5 March 1937 (age 86 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Ibogun-Olaogun, Abeokuta, Ogun, Nigeria |
| State Of Origin: | Ogun State |
| Nationality: | Nigerian |
| Height: | 1.68 m |
| Parents: | Amos Adigun Obasanjo Bankole, Ashabi Obasanjo |
| Siblings: | Esther Adunni Eweje |
| Wife • Spouse: | Oluremi Obasanjo, Stella Obasanjo, Lynda Obasanjo (m. ?–1987) |
| Girlfriend • Partner: | Gold Oruh |
| Children: | Dare Obasanjo, Iyabo Obasanjo, Adeboye Obasanjo, Gbenga Obasanjo, Olubumi Obasanjo, Damilola Obasanjo |
| Occupation: | Politician • Businessman |
| Net Worth: | US$1.8 billion |
Early Life
On March 5, 1937, Olusegun Obasanjo was born in the farming community of Ibogun-Olaogun. He was born to the family of Amos Adigun Obasanjo Adekunle (father) and Ashabi Obasanjo (mother) (mother). Olusegun Matthew Aremu Okikiola Ogunboye Obasanjo was his parents’ name.
He is the first of his parents’ nine children. Only he and his sister, Esther Adunni Eweje, made it through childhood alive. He is an indigene of Ogun State and a member of the Yoruba tribe’s Owu tribe. He was raised as a Baptist and attended his Village Church, which was established by the US South Baptist Church, during his childhood.
Olusegun Obasanjo was born on March 5, 1937 in the farming community of Ibogun-Olaogun. He was born into the family of Amos Adigun Obasanjo Adekunle (father) and Ashabi Obasanjo (mother) (mother). Olusegun Matthew Aremu Okikiola Ogunboye Obasanjo was named after his parents.
He is the first of nine children born to his parents. He and his sister, Esther Adunni Eweje, were the only ones who survived childhood. He is an indigene of Ogun State and is from the Yoruba tribe of the Owu tribe. He was raised as a Baptist and attended his Village Church, which was established by the US South Baptist Church.
Education
Olusegun Obasanjo attended Baptist Day School in Abeokuta before transferring to Baptist Boys High School. He took the University of Ibadan’s entrance exams after graduating.
He was offered admission, but he couldn’t afford the school fees and had to turn it down.
To pursue his dream of becoming a civil engineer, he joined the Nigerian Army.
Olusegun Obasanjo holds a Master of Theology degree. He also earned a Ph.D. in Theology from Nigeria’s National Open University.
Career
Olusegun Obasanjo joined the Nigerian Army in 1958 and was assigned to the Regular Officers’ Training School in Teshie, Ghana. By September 1958, he had been selected as one of the cadets sent to Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and received a certificate in Engineering after completing his studies at the institution. In 1959, he returned to Nigeria.
In the years since, Olusegun Obasanjo has risen through the ranks of the Nigerian Army, serving in a peacekeeping mission in Congo (1960-1961) and the Nigerian Civil War, where he was a key figure in combating the Biafran Army. He rose to prominence after taking part in the coup that deposed General Yakubu Gowon in 1975.
General Murtala Mohammed was appointed as Head of State, and Olusegun Obasanjo was appointed as Chief of Staff (de facto number two man in the country). The ruling triumvirate included Theophilus Danjuma, Chief of Army Staff.
Following Murtala Mohammed’s assassination in a failed coup, the Supreme Military Council appointed Olusegun Obasanjo as the country’s Head of State. During his regime, he continued Murtala Mohammed’s policies and planned to return the country to civilian rule.
He oversaw the drafting of a new constitution and oversaw the 1979 election that inaugurated the Second Republic. On October 1, 1979, he handed over power to the democratically elected president, Alhaji Shehu Shagari. Following that, he retired to Ota, Ogun State, and became actively involved in farming. During this time, he wrote four books and worked as an elder statesman in Nigeria and other African countries to resolve national conflicts.
The Sani Abacha regime arrested and tried Olusegun Obasanjo for treason. He was accused of being a key conspirator in a coup to destabilize the current regime. Olusegun Obasanjo, who refuted the allegation and claimed innocence, had been a vocal critic of Sani Abacha’s regime since it came to power in 1993.
He was imprisoned for the next three years and was only released after the death of Sani Abacha in 1998. When Abdulsalami Abubakar’s military regime began preparing to return the country to democratic rule, Olusegun Obasanjo decided to enter politics. He was elected as the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate and ran in the general elections. He won the election and was inaugurated as Nigeria’s President, ushering in the Fourth Republic.
Olusegun Obasanjo depoliticized the military, expanded the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), and privatized several public enterprises upon taking office in order to reduce the country’s debt and revitalize the economy. He was a key figure in the creation of the African Union and served as the organization’s Chair from 2004 to 2006.
Olusegun Obasanjo was re-elected President of Nigeria in 2003. He attempted to amend the constitution in order to run for a third term in office, but members of the National Assembly blocked the move. His handpicked successor, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, took over as President. He became Chairman of the PDP’s Board of Trustees after leaving office and resigned voluntarily in April 2012.
Olusegun Obasanjo is the founder and Chairman of Obasanjo Farms, a Nigerian poultry and livestock farm. Thousands of Nigerians are employed by the farm, which has many branches.
Books
- My Watch Volume 1: Early Life and Military
- My Watch Volume 2: Political and Public Affairs
- My Watch Volume 3: Now and Then
- My Command
- Nzeogwu
- The Animal Called Man
- Not My Will
- Africa In Perspective
Personal Life
Despite being a born-again Christian, Olusegun Obasanjo has led a polygamous life. In 1963, he married his first wife, Oluremi Obasanjo. They married in London. She is the mother of Iyabo Obasanjo, his first child, born in 1967. In the mid-1970s, the couple divorced.
He began a relationship with NTA reporter Gold Oruh in the 1970s, with whom he had two children. In 1976, he married Stella Obasanjo, who bore him three children. His second wife is Stella Obasanjo.
Olusegun Obasanjo was also involved with Lynda Obasanjo Soares, who was murdered by armed robbers in 1986. Before her death, Lynda Obasanjo was a businesswoman.
Dare Obasanjo, Iyabo Obasanjo, Adeboye Obasanjo, Gbenga Obasanjo, Olubumi Obasanjo, and Damilola Obasanjo are Olusegun Obasanjo’s six children.
Net Worth
Olusegun Obasanjo, a successful agriculturalist, also owns several successful businesses around the world.
The net worth of Olusegun Obasanjo is estimated to be $1.8 billion.
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