Olusegun Obasanjo is a former leader of Nigeria. From 1976 to 1979, he was the appointed military ruler of the country. From 1999 to 2007, he was the democratically elected President of Nigeria. Controversies have been spurred for a long time as to how the ex-president became so rich during his time as president and after his tenure ended.

Below is a list of the top four sources of Obasanjo’s wealth

Politics

Politics in Nigeria is now seen as a business, an opportunity to garner enough wealth while in power to last a lifetime. during his time as President, Obasanjo was accused of corruption, money laundering and misappropriation of public funds. also, he allegedly used his influence as president to create policies and legislation which mostly ended up in his favour. even after many years of getting out of power, he still continued to face accusations from other politicians who were in awe of how he became so rich, considering the fact that he was allegedly only 20,000 naira rich before he became president.

Education

Another source of Obasanjo’s wealth is ownership of Bells Comprehensive Secondary School and the Bells University of Technology, with campuses in Ota, Ogun State, and Badagry, Lagos State. It is one of the seven private institutions approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2005.

Farming

All the way back in 1979, after retiring as Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo started his own farm. The farm grew over time and soon became a major player in the agriculture industry. From a single farm in Ota, it turned into a farming conglomerate all across Nigeria. In 2004, the former president Obasanjo admitted that his farm brought him $250,000 every month, By 2007, however, he had developed farms in Ibadan, Iseyin, Lanlate, Igbo Ora and Ibogun, each of which boasts many Chinese experts and Apart from the President’s cattle ranch and hatchery at Igbo Ora, Oyo State, the biggest in Africa, he has big fish farms in Lanlate, Ota and a big poultry in Ibogun. in 2013, he expanded his farming enterprise to Liberia.

Land Ownership

Obasanjo actually laid the foundation for his land acquisition tendency when he promulgated the Land Use Decree in 1978. The law stipulates that all rights to land were vested in the governor of a state who has the sole authority to issue certificates of occupancy to those who want to secure land for residential, business and agricultural purposes. He has actually benefited from the decree by either forcefully taking or acquiring lands in places like Pleateu, Ogun, Lagos, Cross River, to mention a few. Near Iseyin, Oyo State, Obasanjo also leased a large expanse of land from Jim Shina Farms for N250 million for 50 years. Also, he secured another piece of land along the MKO Abiola Stadium road, a shouting distance from the Governor’s Office in Abeokuta. Another controversial property acquired between 1999 and 2007 is the N7 billion Presidential Library. The library has facilities like guest houses, a cyber café, publishing resources, souvenir/gift shops, auditorium (for seminars, exhibition, social events), a museum and an amphitheatre. Others are a restaurant, park/garden, artificial lake/stream/waterfall, zoo and a gym.