Nigeria’s former military and democratic leader, Olusegun Obasanjo, shared his story on Wednesday about how his late wife, Stella Obasanjo, reached out to numerous global leaders in her efforts to secure his release from jail.

Obasanjo was detained on March 17, 1995, by the military regime led by General Sani Abacha and found guilty of being involved in a plot to topple the military government.

Naija News recalls that despite this, Obasanjo became the elected civilian President in 1999.

The former President reflected on his political journey today while delivering a speech in Benin City during the inauguration of the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, which had been expanded and renovated by the government of Edo State.

The hospital, which was built and dedicated to Stella Obasanjo by Governor Godwin Obaseki’s government, was named in her honour.

In his speech as a special guest, Obasanjo expressed his admiration for his wife’s relentless efforts to secure his freedom.

Late Stella Obasanjo

He said: “When I was in prison, that woman left no stone unturned. She went all over the world to seek my release. She went to Japan, she went to the entire Europe, she went to the Vatican, she went to Latin America, she went through Africa, she left no stone unturned for my release and God answered her prayers and the prayers of all those praying for me, and I came out of prison alive.

“What could I do? I thought, coming out of prison, I’ve had it all. When we were planning for my wife’s 60th birthday anniversary, we never had that birthday anniversary before she died.

“It was very painful to me in particular and to all of us in my family. You can appreciate how thankful I am to you for doing this in her honour.

“I thank all the people of Edo State because I had a woman who made tremendous contributions to the achievements of my government.”

Obasanjo portrayed his late spouse as a woman of significant substance whose contributions were pivotal to the successes of his administration.

He declared that Stella was entitled to any recognition possible, whether during her lifetime or after her passing.

Continuing, the ex-president urged those holding political positions to focus on developing the skills and abilities of their people, emphasizing that a government’s success is inextricably linked to the development of its human resources.

He mentioned that ensuring food and nutrition security is critical to human capital development.

He pointed out that without adequate nutrition, people would not be able to fully benefit from the development of their infrastructure.

“Whatever we do in our responsibility as chief executives, either at the national level, at the state level or even at the local government level, one thing that is very, very important is human capital development.

“I will take three essentials of human capital development. First is food and nutrition security. You can’t do much on an empty stomach.

“The second, of course, is health, and food and nutrition security has something to do with that. Health is wealth, they say. A healthy people is a wealthy nation, because if you are dead, you can no longer be counted among those who are healthy.

“And, I dare to say that health is everything. You must have health to be able to be alive and do other things. And the third, of course, is education,” Obasanjo added.

Former President Obasanjo commended Governor Obaseki for his efforts in reconstructing and enhancing the hospital, which initially began as a mother-and-child hospital and has now been transformed into a specialist facility boasting cutting-edge technology.

In her address prior to the hospital’s inauguration, former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, expressed her gratitude towards Governor Obaseki and the administration led by him for preserving the legacy of Stella Obasanjo through the reconstruction and modernization of the hospital. She emphasized that the hospital’s expansion would benefit not only the citizens of Edo State but also the nation at large.

Governor Obaseki highlighted that the decision to elevate the hospital to a world-class standard was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which it served as an isolation center for patients. He mentioned that the hospital evolved into a critical 300-bed isolation facility, complemented by an additional 20-bed emergency isolation unit.

He further stated that the hospital is now furnished with state-of-the-art modern medical facilities capable of addressing a wide range of health issues.