Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has described his choice of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as a vice president as a mistake.
He however said that because it was a genuine mistake, God made him to overcome the challenges that came with it.
Atiku was vice president to Obasanjo during his reign as president of Nigeria.
Obasanjo made the remarks on Saturday during a questions and answers session at a programme by Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship, SAGE, for selected secondary schools that participated in the final of the National Exhibition and Awards.
The event was held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Although Obasanjo did not mention Atiku’s name, the allusion was obvious since he was the only vice president he had.
His words: “One of the mistakes I made was picking my number two when I wanted to become the President. But because it was a genuine mistake, God saved me.”
The former president also described his refusal to accept the offer of asylum by America during the regime of the maximum ruler, General Sani Abacha, in Nigeria, as another mistake.
“The second one was when Abacha wanted to arrest me. When he wanted to arrest me, I was told by the American ambassador that they would arrest me and that America had asked that I should be given an asylum. I said ‘No’. It could have been a mistake because I could have lost my life.
“I will say there are many things that could have been a mistake but God saved me from them all,” he said.
Obasanjo who spoke on various issues advised against religious intolerance saying no religion should be considered inferior to the other.
Said he: “If God had wanted all of us to be of the same religion, he would have made it so and since He did not make it so, no person should attempt to make it so.
“Young people should learn at a very early age in life that if there are five religions in the world, that is how God wants it to be.
“If there are 10, that is how God wants it. All religions originate from the same source.
“If you are a Muslim and you did not live the way God wants you to live, you cannot enter Aljannah.
“Or you are a Christian and you did not live the way God wants you to live, the same thing, you will not enter paradise.
“If this is the basis of religion, doing the right thing for the benefits of mankind, you don’t have to condemn any person, because of what he believes.
“Practice your religion the way God wants you to do it and don’t condemn another person.”
Obasanjo spoke on the problem preventing the youths from taking over the rein of power in the country.
He said it was obvious that the older ones were not ready to relinquish power despite the Not Too Young to Run campaign.
He asked: “You can see that those that are contesting now are between 70 and 80 years old. How can the youths run?”
“Another thing inhibiting youth from running is the amount of money involved in going into politics. I hope that things should not continue like this.
“I was 39 years old when I became the Military Head of State. Twenty years later, I came back as civilian president, but those there now do not want to allow the youths. If things continue like this, I do not know how you can come in,” he said.
