Thread by @diaryofa9jagirl

#Flashbackfriday to last week when I sat beside former president Olusegun Obasanjo on the plane and we had a lengthy discussion.

Of course, I asked him tough questions and he answered them straight, with no sugar coating.

A #Thread

Remember I posted this morning about how you can pray for anything? As soon as I saw President Obasanjo at the airport, I asked God to allow me to speak with him, I went further to pray that I’d be sitting beside him.

As we boarded the flight,

I found that I wasn’t seated beside him, still I asked the white guy beside him if he’d like to swap seats with me, he agreed without fuss.

I knelt beside president Obasanjo as a sign of greeting, I couldn’t see his lips move behind the mask, but I saw his eyes smile.

Then I sat beside him, and before the plane took off, I said, “if it wouldn’t be a bother, I have so many questions.”

He said, “why not?”

I quickly prioritised the questions in my head because I didn’t want to tire the man out.

Me: What would you say about Buhari and how he has managed the country so far?

OBJ: I made a mistake supporting Buhari, he knew nothing about the Economy.

Me: So why did you and Babangida support him?

OBJ: Because we thought he would fight corruption and insecurity…

…then hire people who know about economy and infrastructure. Big mistake.

Me: From where you sit, what’s the general character of the Nigerian Youth?

OBJ: The youths can’t agree. Not only do you not agree, many of you are still confused as to who to vote for.

Me: We all can’t agree on the same things sir, also, I’m not confused, I know exactly who I’m voting for.

OBJ: But you told me some minutes ago, you won’t be trying to convince anyone to do the same, that you don’t trust politicians. Where’s your conviction to convince others?

***I did tell him while we analysed the 3 leading presidential aspirants that I would be doing my part in voting but won’t be using my platform to campaign for anyone***

Me:

OBJ: You youths have no deep conviction and a commonality of purpose. It’s a shame.

**Ouch**

Me: Are you a feminist?

OBJ: What is that? Why is there feminism? Why don’t you ask me if I’m a manist?

Me: Because women have been subjugated for the longest time and not given equal treatment as men- morally, socially, financially…

OBJ: I don’t believe that is a general truth. My first child is a female, her name is Iyabo. She is the head of the family, nothing happens in the family without her knowledge, she is given all due respect as such. I give people responsibilities according to their capacity,

not their gender. Look at how many women I hired when I was president. Personally, I believe women take their jobs more seriously than men, but as I said, different people, different capacities.

Me: So you’re a feminist.

OBJ: No, I’m a humanist.

We talked some more about many other things like business, cosmetics business, coastal shipping in Africa and his support for Peter Obi.

Before allowing him to sleep, I asked him these two questions:

How has aging affected your life view?

OBJ: I have no regrets…

When you’ve done everything at a certain age and you have the grace to still be alive, all you can continue to do is better your immediate environment,which then grows into bettering the world.

Me: Does this mean you feel at peace with how you left the country after your tenure?

OBJ: Yes. I did all I could with the resources I had then, even though I didn’t do all I wanted to do. [Pause]

No one is perfect.

Me: Is that Why you wanted a third term? Because you felt you hadn’t finished what you wanted to do?

OBJ: I didn’t want a third term, if I wanted a 3rd term, I would have gotten it.

#DANG #DANGTraveldiary