Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said Jimmy Carter was the only leader outside Africa who visited Sani Abacha, the late military dictator, solely to plead for his release from prison.
Obasanjo made this statement in respect to Carter, the late American president who died on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100.
The tribute, titled “Jimmy Carter: The Departure of a Titan,” was read at a memorial service on Sunday at the Chapel of Christ the Glorious King, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun state.
Obasanjo was arrested, tried, and sentenced to prison by the Abacha regime in 1995 for suspected involvement in an attempted military coup.
Obasanjo narrated how Carter visited Nigeria and got Abacha to release him (Obasanjo) from prison, and he was placed on house arrest.
He said that although many others intervened to seek his release, Carter was the only one who had visited Nigeria solely for that purpose.
“President Carter was one of my foreign friends who stuck their necks out to save my life and to seek my release from prison. On President Carter’s visit to Nigeria, he got Abacha to agree to take me from detention to house arrest on my farm. But that did not last for too long,” Obasanjo said.
“Many other friends and leaders intervened, but President Carter was the only non-African leader, according to my information, that paid a visit to Abacha solely to plead for my release.
“I would remain ever grateful to all who worked for my release from Abacha’s gulag. Abacha ensured that I would not be released. Within a week of his death, though, I was released by his successor, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who also facilitated my going around Africa and the rest of the world to thank all those who worked for my release.”
Obasanjo was also astonished when Carter informed him that Ted Turner, the founder of CNN, had promised to care for him and his family after his release.
“I was touched and moved to tears. I immediately went to Ted, who expressed to me the same sentiment that President Carter expressed,” Obasanjo said.
The elder statesman stated that he and Carter had several parallels, including military origins and being raised in rural households that instilled discipline in them.
“He beat me though in one respect; there was a road to his settlement, and there was no road to my village. We walked to every place or, at best, we were carried on bicycles,” he said.
Obasanjo stated that he would miss Carter, “a great and true friend, but I know we shall meet again in paradise”.
During an interactive session with young African leaders at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) over the weekend, Obasanjo stated that his refusal to remain silent on national and international concerns placed him in detention during Abacha’s rule.