Obasanjo: Everything about me is by accident

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said everything about him is accidental, except farming.

Obasanjo was a former military Head of State before he was elected as a civilian President in 1999.

He, however, left office in 2007.

Speaking on Saturday on a live interview with Segun Odegbami on Eagles7 Sports FM in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Obasanjo said the only thing he did in life that did not come by chance is farming.

The former President stated that he is always proud to be addressed as a farmer.

Obasanjo, when asked to speak about what he termed his “romance with farming”, said: “I don’t like the word you used, ‘romance with farming’. I am a farmer. What do you mean by romance. Everything I have done in my life is by accident. The only thing that is not accidental is farming. Every other thing that I’ve been is by accident. And you called that romance? No! What do you mean by romance?

“You know my beginning. I was born and bred in a village. I went to school by accident. My father just said, ‘won’t you do something different?’ So I went into farming.

“When you look at countries that have made it, they developed on agriculture. First, for the purpose of food security; second, for the purpose of processing what they get from their farms, which is the beginning of industrialisation.

“Third, to give it out as export, which is for the purpose of foreign exchange; and fourth, as a means of generating employment for the youth,” the former President stated.

The Star