Drama as Obasanjo, daughter trade banter at public forum

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his lookalike daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, turned a public symposium into a comedy arena of sort on Friday evening as they exchanged playful banter.

The mild drama unfolded at the main auditorium of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State, venue of the Ajibosin Platform, an annual symposium organised as part of the celebration of the Odun Omo Olowu festival.

Iyabo, a former commissioner for health and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Ogun Central Senatorial District election, was one of the panellists at the event, where discussions centred on the theme: “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Grassroots Problems and Accelerate National Development.”

When the moderator, Prof. Yemi Oke, SAN, gave Iyabo the floor to share her thoughts on the theme, the former senator began by acknowledging the dignitaries present, including the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Saka Matemilola; the two-time Minister of Industry, Mrs Onipeko Akande; and her father, who is also the Balogun of Owu Kingdom.

However, Iyabo concluded her brief salutations by acknowledging former President Obasanjo, “who I don’t know.”

Her remark immediately threw the audience into laughter.

Shortly afterwards, Obasanjo grabbed the microphone to contribute to the discussion on the day’s theme, but his first move was to take a playful swipe at his daughter.

The former president, who admitted that he knew little about artificial intelligence (AI), warned that anything beyond one’s control could be abused.

“Anything that is not in your control can be abused against you,” he said.

Taking a swipe at Iyabo, he added: “And you can see it (abuse) has already started.

“Iyabo doesn’t know her father. That’s abuse of AI already.”

The audience erupted in laughter.

The Ota-farmer also spoke extensively about the challenges facing the Nigerian economy, including what he described as the blind adoption of economic prescriptions from young, foreign-trained experts.

“They are brilliant boys and girls, so they went to Ivy League universities, Oxford, Cambridge, and all that,” he said.

Turning to Iyabo, Obasanjo continued: “And some of my children, including Iyabo here, went to those universities. She went to one of the Ivy League universities. But how can Iyabo now be the one who will tell me how I will run my home?”

Daily Trust reports that Obasanjo and his daughter, had reunited after they publicly fell out following a scathing letter written by Iyabo to her father.

Speaking with TVC recently, Iyabo dismissed speculation about a possible rift between her and her father, describing their relationship as a close bond that has grown beyond the traditional father-daughter connection.

The former Ogun State senator explained that their relationship had evolved over the years, with friendship becoming an important part of their connection.

She said, “I am the oldest child, I don’t even know how to describe our relationship, we are more than friends now. I will be 60 next year and he will be 90 next year. At this age I don’t need a lot of fathering, we are more like friends but friends with a deep connection”.

Daily Trust reports that Iyabo returned to active politics in her home state early this year after 15 years.

She represented Ogun Central in the Senate between 2011 and 2017 but lost her re-election bid.

Upon her return to active politics, the former commissioner joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared her intention to run for the governorship seat.

In May, she rejoined the PDP after losing the APC governorship ticket to Senator Solomon Adeola, who represents Ogun West.

In June, the PDP handed her the senatorial ticket for Ogun Central ahead of the 2027 general election.