By Justina Asishana
CLAIM: The National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, claimed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo travelled more frequently than President Muhammadu Buhari while in office.
TRUE: Available evidence revealed that ex-President Obasanjo made 103 foreign trips from 1999 to 2003, which was his first term in office while President Buhari made 65 foreign trips during the same period.
Full Story
Oshiomole claimed that President Obasanjo travelled more frequently than President Buhari. He spoke while answering questions from journalists.
“Saying Mr President is involved in frequent trips is not correct. I remember very well, there is no president in recent Nigeria’s history, since 1999 till now, that travelled out of Nigeria as much as former President Olusegun Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo did.
“If you check through your newspapers and playback some of your electronic coverage, you will find where Gani Fawehinmi (of blessed memory) took time to calculate the number of days President Obasanjo was out of Nigeria, visiting foreign countries.”
This has caused a lot of debate on social media, creating a somewhat equal divide- pro and against both Presidents. Some users on Twitter claimed Buhari’s trips, though not as frequent are long-lasting, arguing they helped shape Nigeria’s image. Others retorted that Obasanjo’s impact was greatly exaggerated.
Verification
Former President Obasanjo’s foreign trips from 1999 to 2007
Checks by The Nation revealed that President Obasanjo travelled to 97 countries during his tenure as President.
The former President also confessed this in a speech at Oxford University in January 2018, which was reported by various news media.
With further search, it was discovered that within the 168 weeks of Obasanjo’s election, he made over 103 foreign trips which averaged 1.63 trips per week of his tenure in Presidency from 1999 to 2002.
This information was obtained through a research work by Sanubi Franklins Avwoghokigho and Oke Chris Ifeanyi Adebowale of the Delta State University titled: “DIPLOMATIC SHUTTLES IN FOREIGN POLICY: WERE OBASANJO TRIPS DURING HIS TENURE OF ANY BENEFITS TO NIGERIA?”. The information was contained in page 146.
READ ALSO: Buhari’s trip: Osinbajo not relegated, says Aide
Notwithstanding, the score-card of Obasanjo’s visit is impressive from the very beginning. Within a short period, various forms of social, political and economic ties have been forged with countries that once loathed Nigeria.
Nigeria’s full re-admission into the comity of nations is copiously attested to. In (Osagie, 2007) the success list is instructive. Among others, the shuttles led to a “swift readmission into the Commonwealth” barely one month into the new regime.
President Buhari’s foreign trips
From 2015 to 2019, President Buhari has made about 65 foreign trips to 33 countries.
A breakdown of the trips shows as follows:
● 2015 – 16
● 2016 – 21
● 2017 – 9
● 2018 – 15
● 2019 – 4
Conclusion
Available evidence during the fact check revealed that ex-President Obasanjo made 103 foreign trips from 1999 to 2003 which was his first term in office while President Buhari made 65 foreign trips within the same period.
This fact-check was done by a Dubawa Fact-checking Fellow in collaboration with The Nation.
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