Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo says his actions during one of the darkest periods of his life reflect a personal commitment to restraint rather than revenge.
Speaking on his past, Obasanjo recalled how he was imprisoned under the military regime of Sani Abacha, yet chose to respond with empathy following a personal tragedy in the ruler’s family.
“Abacha put me in prison. When his son died in a plane crash, I wrote him a letter of condolence… I was still then in Jos prison,” Obasanjo said.
The former leader pointed to the episode as evidence that he does not harbour grudges, even against those who once held him captive. His remarks come amid ongoing public discourse about leadership, forgiveness and accountability in Nigeria’s political history.
Obasanjo was jailed in the 1990s during Abacha’s rule, a period widely criticised for human rights abuses and suppression of political opposition. He was later released following Abacha’s death in 1998 and went on to become Nigeria’s democratically elected president in 1999.
His latest comments underscore a message of reconciliation, as debates continue over how past leaders should be judged in shaping the country’s democratic evolution.
