Obasanjo says picking Atiku was his biggest mistake, thanks God for stopping him from harming Nigeria

• Olusegun Obasanjo says choosing Atiku Abubakar as his vice president was one of his biggest political mistakes.

• The former president says he is grateful that God prevented Atiku's actions from harming Nigeria or derailing his administration.

• Obasanjo and Atiku served together from 1999 to 2007 before their relationship deteriorated over political disagreements.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described his decision to pick Atiku Abubakar as his vice president in 1999 as the biggest mistake of his political career, adding that he is grateful that God prevented his former deputy from causing harm to Nigeria during their time in government together.

Obasanjo made the remarks during a sit-down interview on Arise News, where he was asked to reflect on his presidency and the decisions he made while in office.

He initially declined to name his former deputy directly, but made his identity unmistakable.

"The man I picked as my running mate and number two, if I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him," he said.

When the interviewer asked if he was referring to Atiku, Obasanjo confirmed it without hesitation.

"My vice president. I don't know what name you want to give him, but my vice president. And I mean that," he said.

He went further, suggesting that Atiku had engaged in conduct during their time together that could have derailed his administration and damaged the country, though he stopped short of specifying what those actions were.

"What I knew about him later makes me thank God, because God did not allow his actions and reactions to overwhelm me, or to divert my focus from Nigeria, or to harm Nigeria," he said.

Despite the severity of his remarks, Obasanjo said he carried no personal bitterness toward his former deputy, framing the entire experience as one that God ultimately used to keep his administration on course.

"There is no bitterness because, well, he did things that he believed he should do, and God did things that God had to do, which made me able to achieve what I was able to achieve," he said.

Obasanjo and Atiku were elected together in 1999 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, ending years of military rule and ushering in Nigeria's Fourth Republic. They served two consecutive terms until 2007.

Their relationship deteriorated sharply during their second term, driven largely by disagreements over Obasanjo's alleged push for a third term in office, which Atiku openly opposed. The crisis culminated in Atiku's departure from the PDP ahead of the 2007 elections, after which both men became open political adversaries.

It is not the first time Obasanjo has publicly expressed regret over the choice. In 2022, he told students at a SAGE event in Abeokuta that picking his number two was one of the genuine mistakes of his public life, adding that God had saved him from the consequences of that decision.

Atiku Abubakar has not responded to the latest remarks at the time of writing.

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