insulted as a sitting president by his critics and opposition.
Obasanjo said those published insults against his persons and character were
kept in the archives at his presidential library in Otta.
He said, "If you visit the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta,
you will find thousands of archived newspaper comics and columns meant to
spite and insult my person even as a sitting President. No individual or group
of people was ever queried or jailed or repressed for expressing this freedom.
Rather, I encouraged them because I derived fun and pleasure from the
humour as I know who I am and nobody needs to tell me who and what I am
not."
The Otta farmer made this disclosure while presenting his keynote address at
the first international conference of the African Studies Association of Africa,
ASAA, entitled, "African Studies in the Twenty-First Century, Past, Present
and Future" which held at the International Conference Centre of the University
of Ibadan.
Obasanjo while describing himself as unrepentant optimist on a brighter future
of Africa, reiterated that the continent will soon wriggle out of bad governance
and corruption which seemed to be a syndrome in the continent.
He added, "the stain and stench of slave trade, the cold war, poor governance
made some Africans to laud the good old days of colonialism, corruption and
problem of human rights violations.
"In all these, I am delighted that the so-called great European historians who
professed that Africa has no history lived to realise that African history and
culture had impacts and ramifications on other parts of the world including
theirs", he said.
"The right to free speech, the right to express a different view
point, the right
to draw personal conclusions based on self-instituted research and to querry
certain cultural practices and beliefs are part of the huge liberty that the
continent of Africa now boasts of," Obasanjo said.
Other notable people at the occasion included Professor Toyin Falola, a
keynote speaker, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor
Isaac Adewole was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor
(Administration), Professor EmilOlorun Aiyelari, the Deputy Vice Chancellor
(Academic) Professor Mrs Gbemisola Oke, the Director of the African Studies
of the University of Ibadan, Professor Dele Layiwola, Professor Femi Osofisan,
Dr. Sola Olorunfemi, Dr. Olaoluwa Shenayon and many others.
