Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, entertained guests with playful exchanges during a public symposium in Abeokuta, Ogun State, over the weekend.
The exchange took place at the main auditorium of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, venue of the Ajibosin Platform, an annual symposium organised as part of the Odun Omo Olowu festival, Sunday Trust reports.
Iyabo, a former Ogun State Commissioner for Health and Peoples Democratic Party candidate for Ogun Central Senatorial District in the 2027 elections, was among the panellists at the event.
The symposium focused on the theme, “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Grassroots Problems and Accelerate National Development.”
When moderator Prof. Yemi Oke, SAN, invited her to speak, Iyabo acknowledged dignitaries at the event, including the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Saka Matemilola; former Minister of Industry, Mrs Onipeko Akande; and her father, who is also the Balogun of Owu Kingdom.
However, she ended her salutations with a playful remark, describing Obasanjo as someone “who I don’t know”.
The comment drew laughter from the audience.
Obasanjo later took the microphone to contribute to the discussion and used the opportunity to respond to his daughter’s remark.
While admitting that he knew little about artificial intelligence, the former president warned against allowing technology to operate beyond human control, saying it could be abused.
“Anything that is not in your control can be abused against you,” he said.
He then turned to Iyabo, adding: “And you can see it (abuse) has already started.
“Iyabo doesn’t know her father. That’s abuse of AI already.”
His response triggered another round of laughter.
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The former president, popularly known as the Ota farmer, also addressed Nigeria’s economic challenges, criticising what he described as the unquestioning adoption of economic policies recommended by young, foreign-trained experts.
He argued that some of the experts, despite graduating from prestigious institutions, lacked sufficient understanding of Nigeria’s peculiar circumstances.
“They are brilliant boys and girls, so they went to Ivy League universities, Oxford, Cambridge, and all that,” he said.
Obasanjo again referenced his daughter, who studied at an Ivy League university, questioning whether her education automatically qualified her to determine how he should manage his household.
“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?” he said.
The exchange comes amid renewed public interest in the relationship between the former president and his daughter following their previously reported differences, including a strongly worded letter Iyabo once wrote to him.
However, Iyabo recently dismissed speculation about an ongoing rift, describing their relationship as a close bond that had evolved beyond the traditional father-daughter connection.
In a recent interview with TVC, the former senator said they had become more like friends, sharing a deep connection.
“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,” she said.
Iyabo returned to active politics in Ogun State early this year after a 15-year break.
She represented Ogun Central in the Senate between 2011 and 2017 but lost her re-election bid.
After returning to politics, she joined the ruling All Progressives Congress and declared her intention to contest the governorship election.
However, she returned to the PDP in May after losing the party’s governorship ticket to Senator Solomon Adeola, who represents Ogun West Senatorial District.
In June, the PDP gave her its ticket to contest the Ogun Central Senatorial District seat in the 2027 general election.
Century Herald
