Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed that he is unsure of his precise age, estimating it instead by comparing himself with the few classmates he still has.
During the Toyin Falola Interviews on Sunday, in a session titled “A Conversation with His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,” he noted that six of his secondary school mates are still living, and all of them are above 90.
“I don’t know my exact age but I could judge from those who were in school with me… So I leave it to you to guess what my age could be,” Obasanjo remarked.
Discussing the purpose behind creating the Presidential Library—which he set up to safeguard historical documents and institutional records—Obasanjo explained, “We have digitised over 3 million materials. We still have about the same, 3 million, to digitalise.
“The idea is that when these materials are digitalised, people can have access to them… As document preservation, we preserve the past, take note of the present and we want all these to inspire the future.”
He pointed out that the library houses his primary and secondary school documents, letters he wrote during imprisonment—including correspondence to his wife and a letter addressed to the late General Sani Abacha after his son died—drafts of his authored books, as well as records of crops he cultivated while in custody.
“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,” Obasanjo stated.
Nevertheless, Obasanjo celebrated his 88th birthday in March.
