Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed how entertainer Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, changed his perception of him after witnessing the care he gave to his late father, former Supreme Court Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.
Obasanjo made the revelation during an appearance on Isbae U’s podcast, Curiosity Made Me Ask, aired on Saturday, where he explained his long-standing description of the entertainer as “jaga jaga.”
The former president said he had enormous respect for Justice Oputa but initially had little regard for his son because of Charly Boy’s eccentric public persona.
“Well, Charly Boy is so jaga jaga that I don’t know anything about him,” Obasanjo said.
He described Justice Oputa as “a great man” and said he initially wished his son had been more like him.
“When I first came to know Charly Boy, I had no iota of regard or respect for him,” he recalled.
Obasanjo said his perception began to change after he visited Justice Oputa, without knowing that the retired Supreme Court justice was living in Charly Boy’s residence.
According to him, the first thing that caught his attention was an unusually decorated motorcycle parked in front of the house.
“But when I went to visit Justice and it was in Charly Boy’s house. I didn’t know it was in Charly Boy’s house. So the first thing that put me off in that house, I saw a motorcycle in front of the house. The way the motorcycle was dressed and all that, I said, ‘What is this?’” he said.
However, Obasanjo said what he saw inside the house completely changed his view of the entertainer.
He said Charly Boy was personally taking care of his father and continued to do so until the former Supreme Court justice died.
“And then I went inside the house. I saw how Justice was being taken care of and by who? Charly Boy. Ah, so I started changing my mind about Charly Boy,” he said.
“Until Justice Oputa died, Charly Boy took perfect care of him, looked after him and he really behaved like a good child would give to his father.”
The former president said Charly Boy also cared for his mother, whom he described as a “great humorous woman” whom he visited frequently.
“He didn’t stop there. He did the same to his mother. And I used to frequently visit the mother, who was a great humorous woman. Charly Boy took care of her. Then I started changing my mind. I changed my mind about him,” Obasanjo said.
He said he later confronted Charly Boy about his unconventional lifestyle and asked him what it was all about.
According to Obasanjo, the entertainer explained that his eccentric image and activities were part of how he made a living.
“He said all those jaga jaga things that I see, is to make chop-chop,” Obasanjo recalled.
The former president subsequently described Charly Boy as an intelligent person, arguing that maintaining such an unconventional persona as a means of livelihood required considerable ingenuity.
“It’s an intelligent boy, that Charly Boy, all jaga jaga, because you cannot do jaga jaga to earn a living without being intelligent,” he said.
Obasanjo concluded by acknowledging that his experience had made him develop some affection for the entertainer.
“So now I like him a bit, not too much,” he said.
