Former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has once again stated that he remains unsure of his exact age, explaining that he can only estimate it by comparing himself with his surviving classmates.
Obasanjo said several of his primary school peers are still alive—and none of them is younger than 90 years.
He made the remarks on Sunday during the Toyin Falola Interview Series themed “A Conversation with His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.” The session was moderated by Professor Toyin Falola, with Dr. Matthew Kukah and Professor Kingsley Moghalu also participating.
During the discussion, Obasanjo elaborated on the purpose of establishing his Presidential Library, describing it as a vital centre for safeguarding national records and preserving institutional memory. He revealed that millions of documents have already been digitised.
“We have digitalised over 3m materials. We still have about the same number, 3m to digitalise,” he said.
He explained that the digitalisation project would make the materials easily accessible while serving as a repository for past, present, and future generations.
Obasanjo added that the library holds personal and historical documents, including his academic files, private letters, a note he wrote to General Sani Abacha after the death of his son, and another addressed to his wife during his imprisonment.
Despite these records, he insisted that he still cannot confidently state his exact age, and instead relies on the ages of surviving classmates.
He said, “I don’t know my exact age but I could judge from those who were in school with me… 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.”
He also stated that he preserved his primary and secondary school record cards, which were later exhibited after he established the Presidential Library.
Explaining why he created the library, Obasanjo said record-keeping is poorly practised in Nigeria, and he hoped the institution would correct that.
“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,” he said.
