Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described his decision to pick former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as his running mate in 1999 as the biggest regret of his political career, saying he later discovered qualities in Atiku that would have made him reject the choice.
Obasanjo made the remarks on Friday during a fireside chat with activist Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, at the unveiling of Charly Boy’s foundation and his memoir, 999: A Memoir in Tribute to Late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, in Lagos.
Reflecting on his eight-year administration between 1999 and 2007, Obasanjo said he remains grateful that Atiku’s actions did not derail his administration or cause harm to the country.
“The man I picked as my running mate, my number two, if I had known as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him,” Obasanjo said.
“I mean my vice-president. What I know about him later makes me… thank God because God did not allow his actions and reactions to overwhelm me or to divert my focus from Nigeria or to harm Nigeria.”
Despite the breakdown of their relationship, Obasanjo said he bears no bitterness towards his former deputy.
“There is no bitterness because he did things that he believed he should do and God did things He had to do, which made me achieve what I was able to achieve,” he added.
Obasanjo and Atiku served together from 1999 to 2007 before their relationship deteriorated during the former president’s second term in office. Since then, both men have repeatedly accused each other of corruption, abuse of office, political betrayal and attempts to distort historical events.
In his 2014 memoir, My Watch, Obasanjo accused Atiku of corruption, disloyalty and placing personal ambition above national interest. Atiku rejected the allegations, accusing the former president of attempting to rewrite history and portray himself as a victim of political persecution during the closing years of their administration.
Their long-running feud intensified recently after Obasanjo alleged that Atiku gave the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, ₦5 million to initiate impeachment proceedings against him during his first term in office. Obasanjo made the allegation while responding to comments by former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba on the political events leading to the 2003 general election.
Atiku dismissed the allegation, accusing Obasanjo of fabricating claims against him to advance the political interests of his “kinsman” ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Although Atiku did not mention any name, the reference was widely interpreted as pointing to President Bola Tinubu, who is Yoruba like Obasanjo.
Ironically, despite that accusation, Obasanjo has publicly declared his support for Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), ahead of the 2027 election.