Former President, Obasanjo reveals why he became Nigeria President

Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, asserted that it was a coincidence that he was elected president of Nigeria and a military Head of State.

Before being elected as President in 1999, Obasanjo initially held office as an ex-military Head of State.

He claimed, however, that he chose to be a farmer and was not such by chance.

Obasanjo said he was always proud to be referred to as a farmer during a live radio interview with Segun Odegbami on Eagles7 Sports 103.7 FM, Abeokuta, on Saturday.

Odegbami had urged Obasanjo to talk about his “relationship with farming,” as he put it.

In response, the former president 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.”