By Onilede Titi Faith
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has claimed that during his tenure as military head of state, the United States would not take any major action in Africa without first informing Nigeria.
Speaking at the Presidential Youth Mentorship Retreat (6.0) at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Obasanjo said the late U.S. President Jimmy Carter always notified Nigeria of America’s plans on the continent.
“When I was military head of state, President Jimmy Carter would not do anything in Africa without informing us. They were not taking permission from us, but they would tell us what they were doing,” he said.
Obasanjo noted that his era restored Nigeria’s global respect as a rising African leader — a stature he lamented has since declined.
He also urged Nigerian youths to be “positively disruptive” and take charge of leadership rather than waiting for the older generation.
