Leadership (Abuja)
Ime Akpan
30 September 2008
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo left Nigeria for Libya yesterday on a "private visit".
Dressed in a milk-colour caftan with a black shoe to match, Obasanjo arrived at the Presidential Lounge of the Murtala Mohammed Airport around 12.30pm in a black Suburban jeep with registration number Lagos CV 48 APP.
He was accompanied on the trip by his former aide on public communication, Doyin Okupe.
Although the former President did not expatiate on his Libyan trip, a source said Obasanjo was invited by President Muamar Ghadaffi to mark the Muslim festival of Eid-el-Fitri with him yesterday.
Obasanjo managed to say that his trip to the oil-rich North African country was not political but social.
He joked that his being a sociable person saved him from being consumed long ago.
The following dialogue ensued between Obasanjo and journalists: Journalists: Good afternoon, Sir, what is your mission in Tripoli?
Obasanjo: (Silent for a while). Wetin concern you (general laughter). I am going to Tripoli at the instance of President Ghaddafi who invited me over for Eid-el-Fitri. It is a social visit.
As he made his way to the inner chambers of the presidential wing of the airport, Obasanjo turned to the reporters and said in unadulterated Yoruba language: "Opelope pe mo sosia, pipani won ba ti pami", meaning, "If not that I am sociable, I would have been killed a long time ago."
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