[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fyhMJsbHpYqRQOjSHlCnQuKdShafWnXQDyNbFc8G_YkI":3,"$fBwjsvqClRg1dskek54jwsuGDePErL47oNWSSI1oRlp0":50},{"author":4,"tags":49},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":10,"bio_jsonld":11,"slug":47,"image_url":48},170827,"Olusegun Obasanjo","O",58,"In the years following his military career, Olusegun Obasanjo received the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, a recognition that placed him among a select group of international figures honored for contributions to peace and development — a fitting marker for a life spent at the intersection of soldiering and statecraft.\n\nBorn on 5 March 1937 in Abeokuta, Nigeria, Obasanjo — whose full name is Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo — attended Baptist Boys' High School before pursuing a military education that took him across several institutions. His training included Mons Officer Cadet School, the Defence Services Staff College, and the Royal College of Defence Studies, a sequence that shaped him into a career military officer. He holds Nigerian citizenship and has worked across the fields of the military, politics, and engineering.\n\nHis languages reflect the breadth of his engagement with Nigeria and its peoples. Obasanjo communicates in English, Yoruba, Hausa, and Nigerian Pidgin, a range that speaks to the diversity of the country in which he has spent his public life. His international standing brought him a number of honors from foreign governments and institutions, among them the Order of the Star of Ghana, the Order of the Pioneers of Liberia, the Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, and honorary doctorates from Peking University and the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. Within Nigeria, he holds both the Order of the Federal Republic and the Order of Nigeria.\n\nHe is also an honorary fellow of the African Academy of Sciences. That fellowship, alongside the accumulation of decorations from institutions across Africa, Europe, and Asia, offers a concrete measure of how his career as a Nigerian politician and military figure was received beyond the borders of his country. His name appears in the Library of Congress Name Authority File as Obasanjo, Olusegun.","In the years following his military career, Olusegun Obasanjo received the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, a recognition that placed him among a select group of international figures honored for contributions to peace and development — a fitting marker for a life spent at the intersection of soldiering and statecraft.",{"@graph":12,"@context":46},[13,23],{"@id":14,"name":6,"@type":15,"sameAs":16,"birthDate":21,"description":22},"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202006","Person",[14,17,18,19,20],"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olusegun_Obasanjo","https://viaf.org/viaf/27079337/","https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80125516","https://d-nb.info/gnd/119551705","1937-03-05","nigerian president (1999-2007) and military leader (1976–79)",{"@type":24,"author":25,"headline":28,"isBasedOn":29,"mainEntity":30,"reviewedBy":31,"articleBody":9,"dateCreated":32,"dateModified":33,"additionalProperty":34,"creativeWorkStatus":45},"Article",{"name":26,"@type":27},"Editorial Team","Organization","Olusegun Obasanjo — biography",[14,17,19],{"@id":14},{"name":26,"@type":27},"2026-05-24T03:17:38.684478+00:00","2026-05-24T03:36:11.236132+00:00",[35,39,42],{"@type":36,"value":37,"propertyID":38},"PropertyValue","Q202006","wikidata",{"@type":36,"value":40,"propertyID":41},"1.000","factscore",{"@type":36,"value":43,"propertyID":44},"claude-sonnet-4-6","draftModel","AI-drafted, auto-published","https://schema.org","olusegun-obasanjo",null,[],{"quotes":51,"pagination":161},[52,60,72,83,94,105,117,128,139,150],{"id":53,"quote_text":54,"author_id":5,"source_id":55,"has_image":56,"author":57,"source":58,"quote_tag":59,"commentary":48},3864744,"I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge that our foreign friends are welcome to join in our endeavor to develop the resources of our country.",7,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":47,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":48},{},[],{"id":61,"quote_text":62,"author_id":5,"source_id":63,"has_image":56,"author":64,"source":65,"quote_tag":66,"commentary":48},2172856,"Femi Fani Kayode is my boy. Provide him food, he will eat and then sing for you. He’s a smart boy",4,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":47,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":48},{},[67],{"id":68,"tag":69},5157655,{"id":70,"tag_name":71},958,"boys",{"id":73,"quote_text":74,"author_id":5,"source_id":63,"has_image":56,"author":75,"source":76,"quote_tag":77,"commentary":48},2172845,"If you deceive me once shame on you because I have trusted you once and you have deceived me, if you deceive me twice shame on me because I have learnt my lessons and you have deceive me and if you deceive me for the third time shame on me because am a compound fool.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":47,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":48},{},[78],{"id":79,"tag":80},5157646,{"id":81,"tag_name":82},1768,"lessons",{"id":84,"quote_text":85,"author_id":5,"source_id":63,"has_image":56,"author":86,"source":87,"quote_tag":88,"commentary":48},2172835,"Even Jesus Christ cannot conduct a free and fair election in Nigeria.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":47,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":48},{},[89],{"id":90,"tag":91},5157636,{"id":92,"tag_name":93},91,"jesus",{"id":95,"quote_text":96,"author_id":5,"source_id":63,"has_image":56,"author":97,"source":98,"quote_tag":99,"commentary":48},2172831,"To feed our people we must first feed our soil",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":47,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":48},{},[100],{"id":101,"tag":102},5157626,{"id":103,"tag_name":104},21426,"firsts",{"id":106,"quote_text":107,"author_id":5,"source_id":63,"has_image":56,"author":108,"source":109,"quote_tag":110,"commentary":116},2172818,"Democracy should be nurtured and sustained in Nigeria and in our part of the world",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":47,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":48},{},[111],{"id":112,"tag":113},5157620,{"id":114,"tag_name":115},3993,"democracy","**The Backstory**\nOlusegun Obasanjo, a former President of Nigeria, uttered these words in a speech likely during his presidency or a related public event. This quote reflects his commitment to democratic values amidst the challenges of governance in Nigeria, a country with a complex history of democratization and authoritarianism. At the time, Obasanjo was navigating the delicate balance of power between different factions and interests in the country.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe quote reveals a nuanced understanding of democracy as a process that requires constant attention and effort to sustain. By saying that democracy should be \"nurtured and sustained,\" Obasanjo highlights the inherent fragility of democratic systems and the need for ongoing investment in their development. This sentiment suggests that democracy is not a fixed state, but rather a dynamic and evolving process that demands proactive care and attention.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, consider the parallels between nurturing a democracy and cultivating a healthy organization or community. By prioritizing ongoing effort and attention, leaders can create a more resilient and adaptive system that is better equipped to navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities. This involves fostering a culture of continuous learning, feedback, and improvement, rather than relying on static solutions or assumptions.",{"id":118,"quote_text":119,"author_id":5,"source_id":63,"has_image":56,"author":120,"source":121,"quote_tag":122,"commentary":48},2172806,"I don't see why anybody should worry,",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":47,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":48},{},[123],{"id":124,"tag":125},5157606,{"id":126,"tag_name":127},882,"worry",{"id":129,"quote_text":130,"author_id":5,"source_id":63,"has_image":56,"author":131,"source":132,"quote_tag":133,"commentary":48},2172794,"North and south must also adopt measures to arrest the growing phenomenon of illegal capital flight and the repatriation of illicit wealth siphoned abroad by corrupt political leaders and their collaborators back to their countries of origin,",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":47,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":48},{},[134],{"id":135,"tag":136},5157593,{"id":137,"tag_name":138},3625,"country",{"id":140,"quote_text":141,"author_id":5,"source_id":63,"has_image":56,"author":142,"source":143,"quote_tag":144,"commentary":48},2172780,"Yet there comes a time in the life of a patriot when abdication would amount to a betrayal if not outright treachery.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":47,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":48},{},[145],{"id":146,"tag":147},5157581,{"id":148,"tag_name":149},176,"betrayal",{"id":151,"quote_text":152,"author_id":5,"source_id":63,"has_image":56,"author":153,"source":154,"quote_tag":155,"commentary":48},2172769,"Fighting corruption is not a one-night affair.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":47,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":48},{},[156],{"id":157,"tag":158},5157570,{"id":159,"tag_name":160},3834,"fighting",{"currentPage":162,"totalPages":163,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":164},1,6,10]