Olusegun Obasanjo

== Early life (1937–1958) ==
Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo (or
Matthew Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo) was born in Ibogun-Olaogun, a village in southwest [[Nigeria]].{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=7|2a1=Adeolu|2y=2017|2p=2}} His later passport gave his date of birth as 5 March 1937, although this was a later estimate, with no contemporary records surviving.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=7}} His father was Amos Adigun Obaluayesanjo "Obasanjo" Bankole and his mother was Bernice Ashabi Bankole.{{sfn|Adeolu|2017|p=1}} The first of nine children, only he and a sister (Adunni Oluwole Obasanjo) survived childhood.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=7|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=72}} He was born to the [[Owu Kingdom|Owu]] branch of the [[Yoruba people]]. The village church was part of a mission set up by the U.S. [[Southern Baptist Convention|Southern Baptist Church]] and Obasanjo was raised [[Baptists|Baptist]]. His village also contained Muslims and his sister later converted to [[Islam]] to marry a Muslim man.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=7-8}}

Obasanjo's father was a farmer and until he was eleven years old, the boy was involved in agricultural labour.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=7–8}} Aged eleven, he joined the village primary school,{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=8}} and after three years, in 1951, he moved on to the Baptist Day School in [[Abeokuta]]'s Owu quarter.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=8|2a1=Adeolu|2y=2017|2p=4}} In 1952 he transferred to the [[Baptist Boys' High School]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olusegun Obasanjo {{!}} president of Nigeria {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olusegun-Obasanjo |access-date=24 March 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> also in the town. His school fees were partly financed by state grants.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=9|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2pp=72–73|3a1=Adeolu|3y=2017|3p=5}} Obasanjo did well academically,{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=9|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2pp=72–73}} and at school became a keen [[Boy Scouts|Boy Scout]].{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=9}} Although there is no evidence that he was then involved in any political groups,{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=9}} it was at secondary school that Obasanjo rejected his forename of "Matthew" as an [[anti-colonialism|anti-colonial]] act.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=7|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=72}} 

Meanwhile, Obasanjo's father had abandoned his wife and two children.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=9|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=72|3a1=Adeolu|3y=2017|3p=5}} Falling into poverty, Obasanjo's mother had to operate in trading to survive.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=9}} To pay his school fees, Obasanjo worked on cocoa and kola farms, fished, collected firewood, and sold sand to builders. During the school holidays he also worked at the school, cutting the grass and other manual jobs.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=9|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=73|3a1=Adeolu|3y=2017|3p=5}}

In 1956, Obasanjo took his secondary school exams, having borrowed money to pay for the entry fees.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=10}} That same year, he began courting [[Oluremi Obasanjo|Oluremi Akinlawon]], the Owu daughter of a station master. They were engaged to be married by 1958.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=16}} Leaving school, he moved to [[Ibadan]], where he took a teaching job. There, he sat for the entrance exam for [[University of Ibadan|University College Ibadan]], but although he passed it he found that he could not afford the tuition fees.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=10}} Obasanjo then decided to pursue a career as a civil engineer, and to access this profession, in 1958 answered an advert for officer cadet training in the Nigerian Army.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=10|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=73}}