Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that he is unsure of his exact age, saying the only reference he has is the ages of his surviving primary school classmates, none of whom he believes is younger than 90.
Obasanjo made the disclosure on Sunday during the Toyin Falola Interview Series, themed “A Conversation with His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.” The session was moderated by Professor Toyin Falola and featured Bishop Matthew Kukah and former presidential candidate Professor Kingsley Moghalu.
“I don’t know my exact age but I could judge from those who were in school with me. I have given you an example of Olubara (Oba Jacob Olufemi Omolade, the Olubara of Ibara) who is still alive. I believe there are six of my classmates in secondary school that I know are still alive and none of them is less than 90 years of age. So I leave it to you to guess what my age could be,” Obasanjo said.
During the interview, Obasanjo also spoke extensively about the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), describing it as a vital institution for preserving national history and strengthening Nigeria’s institutional memory.
“We have digitalised over 3 million materials. We still have about the same number, 3 million to digitalise. The idea is when these materials are digitalised, people can have access to them. That is number one. As document preservation, we preserve the past, take note of the present and we want all these to inspire the future,” he explained.
The archive, he said, includes personal academic records, private letters, historic correspondence, and manuscripts written during his imprisonment. Among the items preserved are letters he sent to the late General Sani Abacha and to his wife during incarceration, as well as school records and even records of crops he planted in prison.
“Why the Presidential Library? I believe one of the things we don’t do too well in our society is that we don’t keep records too well. Institutional memory is not what we do very well,” Obasanjo added, stressing the importance of maintaining a record of Nigeria’s history for future generations.
