Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that he remains unsure of his true age, explaining that he relies on the ages of his surviving primary and secondary school classmates—none of whom, he says, is younger than 90—to estimate his own.
Obasanjo made the revelation 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 Bishop Matthew Kukah and former presidential candidate Professor Kingsley Moghalu joining the conversation.
Speaking on the uncertainty surrounding his birth year, Obasanjo said many of his childhood contemporaries are still alive, and their ages suggest he may already be older than 90.
He said, “I don’t know my exact age, but I can judge from those who were in school with me. I have given you an example of Olubara (Oba Jacob Olufemi Omolade) who is still alive. I believe there are six of my classmates in secondary school who 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.”
The former president also used the platform to highlight the purpose of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), describing it as a national asset committed to preserving Nigeria’s history and strengthening institutional memory.
He disclosed that over three million materials have already been digitised, with another three million awaiting digitisation.
“When these materials are digitalised, people can have access to them. That’s number one. As document preservation, we preserve the past, note the present, and hope these resources inspire the future,” he said.
Obasanjo added that the OOPL archive contains deeply personal items, including his primary school record cards, private letters, and historically significant correspondence—such as a letter he wrote to the late General Sani Abacha after his son’s death and another sent to his wife during his time in prison.
