In 1999, a moment to remember came upon like childbirth. After an incomparably awful stretch of military rule which saw Nigeria groan under the iron boots of Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha for thirteen years, Nigeria managed to wriggle free and make a painstaking return to democracy. Led by the 1999 constitution like a compass, the country has been able to stick to that road ever since despite overwhelming odds. It has been twenty-six years now and Africa’s most populous country and economy is not showing any serious signs of wear, telling enough to indicate that a return to military rule is being seriously contemplated.
In the twenty-six years Nigeria’s democracy has refused to bend to the forces of retrogression and autocracy, many African countries, many of them in the West African sub-region have crumbled, intimidated into submission by the unique demands of democracy and what it means to be a democratic country. Today, countries like Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali all continue to writhe under military dictatorship. The jarring silence from those countries reminds Nigeria of the blood-soaked years of Babangida and Abacha and offers a telling warning of the roads Nigeria must never again return to.
To lead Nigeria’s return to democracy was Olusegun Obasanjo. A military president from 1976 to 1979, his constituency had turned on him when Sani Abacha deemed him.
Too dangerous before casting him into prison. But like the biblical Joseph, he went from prison to palace when he contested Nigeria’s presidential election in 1999 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. However, unlike his ill-fated kinsman, M.K.O Abiola, who was denied the opportunity to become Nigeria’s president even after winning the 1993 election before going on to die in detention in one of the worst examples of historical injustices, Obasanjo served as Nigeria’s president for two terms of four years each. There were many bumps on the road, but they were expected for a country that was learning to re-emerge from darkness and walk again.
Obasanjo left Aso Rock in 2007, handing over to Umaru Musa Yar’adua. He was supposed to fade into quiet retirement like most of his peers, but the Ibaogun-Olaogun-born soldier turned democrat has simply chosen to do better, to make something refreshing out of retirement. Like he helped retire the military dictatorship in Nigeria, after his time as president ended, Obasanjo took on the mammoth task of retiring retirement.
On this occasion of his 87th birthday, it is worth mentioning that Obasanjo, a lifelong learner, embarked on active academic pursuits even after leaving office. He has remained active, defying retirement and plainly refusing to let retirement define him.
In December 2017, ten years after leaving office as Nigerian president, Obasanjo would defend his PhD thesis in theology at the National Open University.
Post-presidency, he has also been active in the business of making peace on an African continent which remains heinously susceptible to conflict. He has served as Special Envoy appointed by former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. During the Zimbabwean election of July 2013, Obasanjo headed a delegation of African Union Election observers.
In 2022, Obasanjo mediated peace talks in Ethiopia under the auspices of the African Union, culminating in a ceasefire in the Tigray War on 2 November 2022. In 2025, Obasanjo was appointed as a mediator by the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo amid the ongoing M23 campaign, active since 2022.
Such is the profile of a man who has successfully retired retirement, the impregnable and indefatigable octogenarian who continues to defy age and public expectations to make meaningful contributions within and outside Nigeria.
In a country where old age has become synonymous with rejection, abandonment and inactivity, at 87, Obasanjo has shown that a very ugly trend can be reversed, and with adequate planning and preparation, everyone can live with dignity until the end of their lives.
On the occasion of his 87th birthday, may his model serve older Nigerians, especially those who feel cast off and let down after giving their all in service of the fatherland.
Ike Willie-Nwobu,
Ikewilly9@gmail.com
