Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has publicly admitted that he did not know his true age.
Speaking
on Thursday at the 2017 International Youth Variety Day and Public
Presentation of Olusegun Obasanjo’s Books for Children, as part of
programmes for his 80th birthday, the former President said his late
mother merely told him that she gave birth to him on a market day.
Obasanjo
revealed that while growing up, he had the challenge of knowing his
real date of birth, because his parents were illiterates but when he
continued to pressure his mother, the information he was given by her
was that she gave birth to him on an ‘Ifo’ village market day.
“At
early stage in my life, I had the challenge of knowing my date of
birth, and my peers always asked, while in return I persisted in asking
my mother, who was an illiterate and had no records,” he said.
“When
I continued to put pressure on my mother, she told me that she was
preparing to go to market on the said day, and went into labour, and
before others could return from the market, she had given birth to me.
“I’m
not as lucky as some of my peers who know the dates of their birth.
What matters to me is that I have chosen a date. If I don’t even know
the exact date of my birth, at least I know my age group.
“When we
were growing up, if people doubt the source of your wealth, you will be
ostracised. If your father goes out every night, the conclusion would
be that your father is a thief, and if a family is seen and known to
have engaged in crimes, the community will keep its distance from such
family. All those values are gone, and how do we bring them back?
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