Obasanjo: Mandela rebuffed my pleas for him to seek re-election after the expiration of his tenure.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described the death of the former South African president, Nelson Mandela as a great loss to his family, South Africans, Africans and the entire world who would greatly miss a caring patriarch, a role model and a leader.

He was speaking at his hilltop mansion in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital while reacting to the death of his bosom friend.

While commiserating with the entire black race on the demise of the man fondly called Madiba by his people, former President Obasanjo said his life should be an example of what all leaders of the world should aspire for.

Obasanjo recounted with nostalgia his earliest encounters with Nelson Mandela when he visited him in Polls Moor Prison in February 1986, when he was a co-chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South African apartheid regime.

While joining other world leaders to pay tribute to the life and times of the late icon of South Africa’s struggle, Obasanjo commended the refusal by Mandela to seek re-election after the expiration of his tenure despite his own personal persuasion.

And as the world mourns his demise, President Obasanjo has however challenged world leaders, saying his struggle and our struggles should remain the same as we seek answers to today’s challenges.

He said the world should be reminded of the sterling qualities of forgiveness and forbearance which the great Madiba left behind.