Obasanjo: 'When I Was In Prison, I Had Joy'

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday said he was “bubbling with joy” while in detention. The military junta of Sani Abacha sentenced Obasanjo to life imprisonment in 1995, after he was convicted for his alleged involvement in the plot to overthrow that government.

He was released three years later, following the death of Abacha. Delivering a keynote address titled ‘Man in Pursuit of Happiness’ at the 50th anniversary and founder’s day lecture of the Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) in Lagos, Obasanjo said no man could succeed and achieve anything in life outside God.

“When I was in prison, I was always bubbling with joy, because I derive joy in the presence of God.

This shows that you can be happy in spite of your situation,” he said.

"So, rather than seek happiness, seek God and every other thing will fall into place. Man has been in search of happiness through position, reputation, greatness, wealth and even through atrocities. “All these can only produce man-made happiness that cannot last. Man lacks the ability to make himself happy and in the quest for happiness, we look in the wrong direction and places."

Obasanjo appreciated the society for making it possible for people to have better understanding of the word of God through the many local languages that BSN had interpreted the Bible into.