For those keen to know how old former President Olusegun Obasanjo is, they will have to wait longer as the man who ruled Nigeria first as a military general before being democratically elected has dropped a shocker that he doesn’t know his exact age.
He however said that he could determine from those who are his primary school mates, saying six of them are still alive and none of them is below 90 years.
Obasanjo spoke on Sunday during the Toyin Falola Interviews series tagged, “A Conversation with His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.”
The interview was conducted by Professor Toyin Falola, an accomplished Nigerian Historian, Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr. Mathew Kukah and former Presidential Candidate, Professor Kingsley Moghalu.
Obasanjo stated that he set up the presidential library to preserve institutional memory, keep records of things, adding, “We have digitalised over 3m materials. We still have about the same number, 3m to digitalise.
“The idea is when these materials are digitalised, people can have access to them. That is number one. As document preservation, we preserve the past, take note of the present and we want all these to inspire the future.”
He said, “I don’t know my exact age but I could judge from those who were in school with me, I have given you an example of Olubara (Oba Jacob Olufemi Omolade, the Olubara of Ibara) who is still alive.
“I believe there are six of my classmates in secondary school that I know are still alive and none of them is less than 90 years of age. So I leave it to you to guess what my age could be.
“My school record card in primary school, I have been able to keep them and when I became President and I wanted to establish the library, they were available to be exhibited. My records in primary and secondary school and even the manuscripts of books that I have written, those that I wrote in prison and so on, even crops of maize that I planted when I was in prison, they are there and somehow I was able to keep them.
“Why the Presidential Library? I believe one of the things we don’t do too well in our society is that we don’t keep records too well, institutional memory is not what we do very well.”
