"I Had No Respect For Him Until I Saw How He Cared For His Father" — Obasanjo On Why He Changed His Mind About Charly Boy

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has left many Nigerians talking after revealing his brutally honest first impression of veteran entertainer Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, and what eventually changed his mind about the self-acclaimed Area Fada.

Obasanjo explained it on Isbae U's podcast Curiosity Made Me Ask on Saturday.

He said when he first knew Charly Boy, he had "no iota of regard or respect" for him because of his unconventional lifestyle.

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 “Charly Boy is so jagajaga that I don't know anything about him. Can you see a man who dressed like a woman? Like a gentleman, who dressed like a bushman. I run away from him because he's too jagajaga. But he has a good father, Justice Oputa. Oh, what a great man. I wish Charly Boy had resembled him.” b38a

Obasanjo disclosed what changed his perception, was seeing how Charly Boy cared for his parents.

Obasanjo went to visit the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa and didn't realize he was living in Charly Boy's house. He said he was first put off by a dressed-up motorcycle parked in front, but inside he saw

“I saw how Joseph Oputa was being taken care of, and by whom? Charly Boy. So, I started changing my mind about Charly Boy. Until Joseph Oputa died, Charly Boy took perfect care of him.” 

He said Charly Boy did the same for his mother, who Obasanjo described as a humorous woman he used to visit regularly.

When Obasanjo later confronted him about the "jaga-jaga" image, Charly Boy told him it was business strategy.

 “All those jaga-jaga things that I see are to make chop-chop” 

Obasanjo then admitted you need intelligence to make a living from that persona, and said "now I like him a bit, not too much."