James Sowole in Abeokuta
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his lookalike daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, turned a public symposium right into a comedy enviornment of type on Friday night as they exchanged playful banter.
The gentle drama unfolded at the primary auditorium of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State, venue of the Ajibosin Platform, an annual symposium organised as a part of the celebration of the Odun Omo Olowu pageant.
Iyabo, a former commissioner for well being and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Ogun Central Senatorial District election, was one of many panellists at the occasion, the place 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 ground to share her ideas on the theme, the previous senator started by acknowledging the dignitaries current, together with the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Saka Matemilola; the two-time Minister of Industry, Mrs Onipeko Akande; and her father, who can also be the Balogun of Owu Kingdom.
However, Iyabo concluded her transient salutations by acknowledging former President Obasanjo, “who I don’t know.”
Her comment instantly threw the viewers into laughter.
Shortly afterwards, Obasanjo grabbed the microphone to contribute to the dialogue on the day’s theme, however his first transfer was to take a playful swipe at his daughter.
The former president, who admitted that he knew little about synthetic intelligence (AI), warned that something past one’s management could possibly be abused.
“Anything that is not in your control can be abused against you,” he mentioned.
Taking a swipe at Iyabo, he added: “And you possibly can see it (abuse) has already began.
“Iyabo doesn’t know her father. That’s abuse of AI already.”
The viewers erupted in laughter.
The Ota-farmer additionally spoke extensively concerning the challenges going through the Nigerian financial system, together with what he described as the blind adoption of financial prescriptions from younger, foreign-trained consultants.
“They are brilliant boys and girls, so they went to Ivy League universities, Oxford, Cambridge, and all that,” he mentioned.
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 studies 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 just lately, Iyabo dismissed hypothesis a few doable rift between her and her father, describing their relationship as a detailed bond that has grown past the standard father-daughter connection.
The former Ogun State senator defined that their relationship had developed over time, with friendship changing into an essential a part of their connection.
She mentioned, “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 studies that Iyabo returned to lively politics in her residence state early this 12 months after 15 years.
She represented Ogun Central within the Senate between 2011 and 2017 however misplaced her re-election bid.
Upon her return to lively politics, the previous 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 dropping the APC governorship ticket to Senator Solomon Adeola, who represents Ogun West.
In June, the PDP handed her the senatorial ticket for Ogun Central forward of the 2027 basic election.
