How I rejected Gift From Former Emir - Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has reflected on his time spent in Yola maximum prison, noting that it positively influenced his later presidency.

 Speaking at the commissioning of the Jimeta grade interchange, the first of its kind in northern Nigeria, Obasanjo shared that his prison experience, despite its hardships, became a blessing after he became president.

“My life in prison turned out to be a blessing, especially after I became the president of Nigeria,” Obasanjo said.

Obasanjo praised Governor Ahmadu Fintri for his impressive performance over the past five years and suggested that if more governors adopted Fintri’s approach, Nigeria could overcome its economic challenges.

“Nigeria will overcome its economic woes if half of the governors can emulate the Adamawa State Governor’s style of administration,” he remarked.

He encouraged Fintri to extend his urban renewal efforts to rural areas to enhance food production, job creation, and security.

On urban renewal, he urged, “This will boost food production, create jobs, and reduce insecurity in the state.”

Recalling his prison days, Obasanjo mentioned how the late Lamido offered to send him an air conditioner, which he declined, stating that the prison authorities would likely remove it.

 Instead, he chose to continue using a fan.“When I was here, the now late Lamido took me as his child. He sent someone to me that he wanted to send an air conditioner to me and I said your eminent, the man that put me here does not want me to have the pleasure of an air conditioner, so if you give me an air conditioner, the authority may remove it, so let me continue with the fan in my prison room,” Obasanjo recalled.

Governor Fintri, in his speech, expressed gratitude to Obasanjo for commissioning the project and addressed initial skepticism about the feasibility of the interchange.“Skeptics went wild with their usual doubts that it cannot be done. Someone had the guts to tell me that I was digging a pit at the center of the city without the knowledge of how I am going to fill it. To the glory of God, today, it is not only done but done excellently and in record time,” Fintri stated.He affirmed that his administration remains committed to implementing projects that benefit the people of Adamawa State.“When it became evident that the project was coming into fruition, pessimists changed their campaign of calumny to ‘it is not a priority now, because the traffic situation in Yola is not yet as overbearing as to warrant the necessity for an overhead bridge,’” the governor said ruefully.Fintri insisted, “My administration would continue to execute people-oriented projects as payback to Adamawa residents for considering me worthy to pilot the affairs of the state.”