Olusegun Obasanjo

== Post-presidency (2007–present) ==
=== Politics ===
[[File:Obasanjo Mugabe.jpg|thumb|Obasanjo visits [[Robert Mugabe]] -Zimbabwe General Election 2013]]He became chairman of the [[PDP Board of Trustees]], with control over nominations for governmental positions and even policy and strategy. As one Western diplomat said, "He intends to sit in the passenger seat giving advice and ready to grab the wheel if Nigeria goes off course."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070419143030/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1609059,00.html Africa's Barometer], ''Time Magazine''.</ref> He voluntarily resigned as the chairman board of trustees of the PDP in April 2012.<ref>[http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/obasanjo-suddenly-quits-as-chair-of-pdp-trustees-board/112945/ Obasanjo Suddenly Quits as Chair of PDP? Trustees Board] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204121329/http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/obasanjo-suddenly-quits-as-chair-of-pdp-trustees-board/112945/ |date=4 February 2015 }}, ''This Day Newspaper''.</ref> Afterwards, he withdrew from political activities with PDP.

In March 2008, Obasanjo was "supposedly" indicted by a committee of the Nigerian parliament for awarding $2.2bn-worth of energy contracts during his eight-year rule, without due process. The report of this probe was never accepted by the whole Nigerian parliament due to manipulation of the entire process by the leadership of the power probe committee. It is not on any official record that Chief Obasanjo was indicted.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7296466.stm | work=BBC News | title=Nigerian deals 'wasted billions' | date=14 March 2008 | access-date=20 May 2010}}</ref>

In May 2014, Obasanjo wrote to President [[Goodluck Jonathan]] requesting that he should mediate on behalf of the Nigerian government for the release of the Chibok girls held by the Boko Haram militants.<ref name="Obasanjo to mediate for Chibok girls release">{{cite news|date=28 May 2014|title=Obasanjo initiates contact with Boko Haram to help #BringBackOurGirls|newspaper=Premium Times|url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/161558-obasanjo-initiates-contact-with-boko-haram-to-help-bringbackourgirls.html#sthash.GGJMZVvT.dpbs|access-date=15 August 2014}}</ref>

On 16 February 2015, he quit the ruling party and directed a PDP ward leader to tear his membership card during a press conference.<ref>{{cite web|date=18 February 2015|title=Why I directed PDP Ward Leader to tear my membership card – Obasanjo|url=http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/177051-why-i-directed-pdp-ward-leader-to-tear-my-membership-card-obasanjo.html|access-date=18 February 2015|publisher=Premium Times}}</ref> He was later to be known as the navigator of the newly formed opposition party, the APC.<ref>{{cite web|title=APC recruits Obasanjo as navigator |url=http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2013/12/22/apc-recruits-obasanjo-as-navigator/|access-date=17 April 2016|website=www.pmnewsnigeria.com|date=22 December 2013}}</ref>

On 24 January 2018, he wrote serving President Muhammadu Buhari highlighting his areas of weakness and advising him not to run for office in 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Full text: Obasanjo's letter to Buhari|language=en-US|work=Punch Newspapers|url=http://punchng.com/full-letter-obasanjo-writes-buhari-asks-president-to-halt-2019-ambition/|access-date=31 January 2018}}</ref> To date all his letters to incumbent presidents have preceded their downfall.<ref>{{Cite news|date=25 January 2018|title=Obasanjo's seven letters till date have preceded fall of incumbent presidents |language=en-US|work=BusinessDay |url=http://www.businessdayonline.com/obasanjos-seven-letters-till-date-preceded-fall-incumbent-presidents/|url-status=dead|access-date=31 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201020518/http://www.businessdayonline.com/obasanjos-seven-letters-till-date-preceded-fall-incumbent-presidents/|archive-date=1 February 2018}}</ref>

On 31 January 2018, his political movement called "Coalition for Nigeria Movement" (CNM) was launched in Abuja.<ref>{{Cite news|date=31 January 2018|title= Obasanjo's Coalition for Nigeria launched in Abuja |language=en-US|work=Daily Post Nigeria|url=http://dailypost.ng/2018/01/31/breaking-obasanjos-coalition-nigeria-launched-abuja/|access-date=1 February 2018}}</ref> On 10 May 2018, the movement adopts a political party, [[African Democratic Congress]] (ADC), to realise its dream of a new Nigeria.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Obasanjo's coalition adopts ADC as political party|language=en-US|work=Punch Newspapers|url=http://punchng.com/breaking-obasanjos-coalition-adopts-adc-as-political-party/|access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref>

On 20 November 2018, Obasanjo officially announced his return<ref>{{Cite news|title=Obasanjo Announce His Official Return to PDP|language=en-US|work=Okay.ng|url=https://www.okay.ng/just-in-obasanjo-announce-his-official-return-to-pdp/|access-date=20 November 2018}}</ref> to the main opposition party, [[Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria)|Peoples Democratic Party]] (PDP) during a book launch for ''My Transition Hours'', written by former President [[Goodluck Jonathan]].

On 22 January 2022, Obasanjo declared that he had retired from partisan politics; he stated this after receiving national delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] in his residence in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria<ref>{{cite web|last=Coffie |first=Charles |url=https://guardian.ng/politics/no-going-back-to-partisan-politics-obasanjo-insists/ |title=No going back to partisan politics, Obasanjo insists &#124; The Guardian Nigeria News |website=Guardian.ng |date=23 January 2022 |access-date=18 March 2022}}</ref>

=== Diplomacy ===
Obasanjo was appointed Special Envoy by UN Secretary-General [[Ban Ki-moon]] to the war-torn [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. He held separate meetings with DRC President [[Joseph Kabila]] and rebel leader [[Laurent Nkunda]].

During the Zimbabwean election of July 2013, Obasanjo headed a delegation of [[African Union]] election observers.<ref name="Election monitor head">{{cite news|title=Head of AU vote monitors Obasanjo arrives in Zimbabwe|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/07/27/head-au-vote-monitors-obasanjo-arrives-in-zimbabwe/|access-date=3 August 2013|newspaper=Fox News|date=27 July 2013}}</ref>

In 2022, Obasanjo mediated [[Ethiopia–Tigray peace agreement|peace talks]] between the [[Ethiopia]]n government and the [[TPLF|Tigray People's Liberation Front]] under the auspices of the [[African Union]], culminating in a ceasefire of the [[Tigray War]] on November 2, 2022.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ethiopia, Tigrayan Rebels Reach Truce in Two-Year Civil War|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/ethiopia-tigrayan-rebels-reach-truce-in-two-year-civil-war-11667418320|access-date=4 November 2022|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=4 November 2022}}</ref>

=== Further education ===
In December 2017, Obasanjo defended his Ph.D. thesis at the [[National Open University of Nigeria]] (NOUN). He now holds a Ph.D. in theology. That was about two years after he completed his master's degree in the same course.<ref name="EduCeleb.com">{{cite web|last1=Amoo|first1=Abdussalam|title=Why Obasanjo spent less than two years on his PhD |url=https://educeleb.com/obasanjo-spent-less-two-years-phd-noun/|website=EduCeleb|date=16 December 2017|publisher=EduCeleb|access-date=31 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dimeji|first1=Kayode-Adedeji|title=Obasanjo bags PhD in Theology|url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/252587-obasanjo-bags-phd-theology.html|access-date=3 January 2018|agency=Premium Times|publisher=Premium Times|date=15 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Awoyinfa|first1=Samuel|title=Obasanjo bags PhD in Christian Theology|url=http://punchng.com/obasanjo-bags-phd-in-christian-theology/|access-date=3 January 2018|publisher=The Punch Newspaper|date=16 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Olatunji|first1=Daud|title=Obasanjo bags PhD in Christian Theology after 163 minutes drill by Panelists|url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/12/obasanjo-bags-phd-christian-theology-163-minutes-drill-panelists/|access-date=3 January 2018|agency=Vanguard Newspaper|date=15 December 2017}}</ref>