Olusegun Obasanjo, 2 Other Living Former Nigerian Leaders Who Narrowly Escaped Death, List Emerges
- Former Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo, who clocked 89 on Thursday, March 5, 2026, has escaped death by the whiskers at least a dozen times throughout his life
- Ibrahim Babangida and Yakubu Gowon miraculously escaped assassination attempts and life-threatening events
- Legit.ng's article explores the resilience and survival stories of Nigeria's prominent former leaders in scary times
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics, elections, public affairs and governance in Nigeria and Africa.
Abeokuta, Ogun State - Former president and elder statesman Olusegun Obasanjo turned 89 on Thursday, March 5, 2026.
Obasanjo, a former army general, served as Nigeria’s military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and later as its civilian president from 1999 to 2007.
Source: Twitter
The octogenarian has experienced numerous physical, political, and life-threatening “scary moments” throughout his life, including at least 12 near-death experiences.
In this report, Legit.ng highlights Obasanjo and two other living former Nigerian leaders who narrowly escaped death and were preserved by God.
Living ex-Nigerian leaders who cheated death
1) Obasanjo escapes fatal incidents
In 2015, OBJ, as Obasanjo is fondly called, offered insight into how he has repeatedly escaped death by the whiskers during his lifetime. In his three-volume autobiography, “My Watch,” the former president recounted several frightening incidents from his early years.
He wrote about surviving infant mortality that claimed all but one of his siblings, how local herbs and concoctions helped keep him alive after a life-threatening scorpion bite, and how he nearly drowned in the Ogun River while learning to swim.
The former president, who spoke to Premium Times about the book, also narrated how he survived an alleged assassination plot at the University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State.
During his active years in the military, Obasanjo also narrowly escaped death at the time of the January 1966 military coup and the July 1966 counter-coup. He again survived by the whiskers during the February 1976 coup attempt, when Bukar Dimka and his co-plotters struck and assassinated then Head of State, Murtala Muhammed.
Years later, Obasanjo was again involved in a frightening incident. On Saturday, October 24, 2015, he survived a car accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, shortly after the Sagamu roundabout, while travelling to Lagos to attend the 80th birthday celebration of prominent businessman Kessington Adebutu.
The Nation quoted Obasanjo’s media office as saying:
"The vehicle, he was travelling in suffered a burst left tyre at the rear and swerved several times but did not hit any curb or any car in front or behind until it did a 180-degree turn and faced where it was coming from, and he had to change vehicles."
Obasanjo also faced serious threats during his presidency, according to The Cable. In April 2004, Nigerian authorities foiled a coup attempt aimed at toppling his administration, an incident that tested the country’s young democracy just five years after its return to civilian rule. Nearly 30 mid-ranking military officers were reportedly implicated in the plot.
Later that year, in October 2004, four military officers and a civilian were charged with allegedly plotting to assassinate the president by shooting down his helicopter with a missile.
However, there are limited public reports on the final outcome of the coup investigation or the prosecution of those involved.
Source: Twitter
2) Ibrahim Babangida dodges death
During a reconnaissance military operation from Enugu to Umuahia in 1969, the battalion came under heavy enemy fire, and Ibrahim Babangida, now a retired general and former leader, was shot on the right side of his chest.
The Niger State-born public figure was subsequently hospitalised in Lagos and given the option of removing the bullet shrapnel. However, he declined the procedure and still carries the fragment in his body to this day, according to Daily Trust in a 2022 report.
Today, Babangida, 84, often hosts political stakeholders, entrepreneurs, and other visitors at his hilltop mansion in Minna, Niger State.
3) Yakubu Gowon survives assassination attempts
During the 1966 and 1975 coups, Yakubu Gowon survived multiple assassination attempts, including an early plot during the 1966 coup that killed several officers but spared him due to circumstances.
Gowon, 91, remains active as an elder statesman in Nigeria.
Read more on Olusegun Obasanjo:
- "We have rubbished the value of integrity": Obasanjo
- Yoruba Nation: “Why I’m better as a Nigerian than in Oodua Republic,” Obasanjo explains
- Why I envy 90-year-old Yakubu Gowon, Obasanjo explains
- Obasanjo reacts to claim his father is Igbo
'I won't die anytime soon,' Obasanjo
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Obasanjo said that at 89 years, he would not die anytime soon.
Obasanjo condemned those circulating a fake letter in which he was purportedly speaking about his death, saying they were only wasting their time because “I dey Kampe.”
Source: Legit.ng
