"Buhari has not disappointed me," Ex-President says

Obasanjo, however, stressed that Buhari has never been sound on economy and foreign affairs.

He noted that the President is strong in insurgency and anti-corruption matters, the area which he said Buhari has done well.

According to PM News, the former president stated this in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during an interview with a group of journalists to mark his 80th birthday, which comes up on Monday, March 6.

He was quoted as saying: "President Buhari has not disappointed me. From what I know about him and what he has done, he has not disappointed me.

"In my book, I said he’s not strong on the economy. And he’s not. In fact, I said he’s not strong on foreign affairs. He’s improved somewhat on foreign affairs. But in the areas we know him, he has done his best. He has done his best in fighting insurgency. He has done his best in trying to fight corruption."

He also spoke on why he disagrees with Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka's opinions on national matters most of the time.

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Obasanjo said he holds no grudge against Soyinka, adding that the playwright is not God or an oracle whose stand on issues should always be right.

When asked whether he has forgiven Soyinka for publicly opposing Obasanjo's aspiration to become United Nations Secretary General, the former president said "it’s not a question of forgiveness."

He added: "Wole Soyinka is not God. And I don’t believe there’s any human being that is absolutely right. Wole Soyinka has what I believe he has. He’s a gifted person in his own way.

"But Wole Soyinka is not an oracle. I will not accept Wole Soyinka making cathedral statement on everything. I don’t believe that anybody could do that.

"When Wole Soyinka does what I believe is right, I will commend him. When he says what I believe is not right, Wole Soyinka is a populist and I don’t believe in populism."