Former US president Jimmy Carter was remembered by former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who remembered his appeal for his release from military junta leader Sani Abacha.
At a memorial service held on Sunday in Carter’s memory on Sunday, Obasanjo made a speech.
“President Carter was one of my foreign friends who fought my side to secure my release from prison and to save my life. At the ceremony held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library’s Chapel of Christ the Glorious King in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Obasanjo stated, “On President Carter’s visit to Nigeria, he got Abacha to agree to take me out of detention and house arrest on my farm.”
“But that did not last too long,” she said. Many other friends and leaders intervened, but President Carter was the only non-African leader, according to my information, that paid a visit to Abacha solely to plead for my release”.
READ ALSO: I Wrote To Abacha Asking Him To Spare Obasanjo’s Life – Gowon
“I was moved to tears,” I said.
In 1995, Obasanjo was detained by the Abacha regime as a result of an alleged coup plot. However, the former president was released after Abacha’s demise in 1998.
The following year, Obasanjo became Nigeria’s president, elected under the umbrella of the , Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“In the U.S., I called President Carter and he informed me of all the efforts he and other leaders made while keeping Abacha steadfast for my release. But the most surprising thing Carter said to me was, ‘ Please, see Ted Turner and thank him for his generosity. He came to me and asked me to get his friend, Obasanjo, released from prison. He and his family will be cared for either here or wherever they choose to reside. The former president described the late Carter as his friend and friend and said, “I was touched and moved to tears” at the gathering.
“For me, I would miss a great and true friend, but I know we shall meet again in Paradise. May his soul rest in peace”, the 87-year-old said.
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