By Seyi Babalola
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed regret that his mother did not survive to see his greatness after carrying him for 12 months in her womb.
Obasanjo spoke at the staging of the drama, “Aremu Omo Asabi,” at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State, at the 66th memorial session in honor of his late mother.
The former president said his mother battled witches and wizards while pregnant with him and grieved that she did not live to see the fruits of her labour.
Obasanjo said: “I was told I was in her womb for 12 months, and since I was born, I have not been left for once. She had nine children but two of us survived, myself and my sister but I was the only one who went to school because my father’s belief was that no matter how educated a female child is, she would end up in the kitchen.”
In his remarks, the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, described Mama Bernice Obasanjo as a great woman while alive, saying her influence would continue to endure through the lives of her children, especially Chief Obasanjo, who remains a formidable figure in Nigeria’s history.
Abiodun, represented by the Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, stated that mothers will forever be the bedrock upon which the foundation of any society is built.
He asserted that the musical drama was not just recounting history but was also a prompt reminder of the sacrifices of mothers.
