How i survived fire that gutted my house- Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday recounted what transpired during the fire incident that gutted a part of his palatial building in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, last week, saying he would have died in the inferno.

According to Obasanjo, if not for divine intervention that made the fire to break out in the afternoon and not midnight, he would have been suffocated to death and become history.

He was full of praises to God for sparing his life and for the opportunity to witness a new year, stressing that the smoke that beclouded his room would have killed him.

While recounting the experience, Obasanjo said many documents and consumables were destroyed in the inferno.

He said: “The fire, which occurred in the office of my Private Secretary, resulted in thick smoke, which pervaded my bedroom.
If it had happened at night, I would have been a dead person by now. I want to thank all, and all those who called me on phone both within and outside the country.
Let us appreciate the mercy and kindness of God. There are many, we started last year together, but no more today.
We are not mocking them, but to extol God. In fact, that I am able to stand erect is God’s blessing.
Many of my age group cannot stand well. “I am not mocking them, but I am thanking God.”

While disclosing that he continued to receive telephone calls from within and outside Nigeria over the incident, the statesman prayed that the New Year would be a glorious one for the country.