‘I have been living with Diabetes for the last 35 years’ – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that he has been living and managing diabetes for the past 35 years.

He disclosed this on Wednesday during the closing ceremony of the Ogun State Diabetes Youth Development Camp held in Abeokuta.

The camp, which was organised by Talabi Diabetes Centre, trained 21 children living with type-1 diabetes in the state on how to manage the disease.

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. Glucose comes from the food consumed. Insulin is a hormone that helps the glucose get into the body’s cells to give them energy. With type 1 diabetes, the body does not make insulin.

“I have been diagnosed with diabetes for more than 35 years now and here I am, I’m still going about, I’m still jumping up and down, I’m still doing many things many people of my age cannot do,” he said.

“It does not matter whether you are type one or type two. So far, there is no cure for diabetes. Maybe there will be a cure before I die, but I pray that there will be a cure before you die.”

While noting that some of his friends had succumbed to the disease, Obasanjo attributed the development to a lack of management of the disease.

“Don’t miss your drugs, in your own case, your insulin injection. I take my drugs along with me everywhere I go and I always check my blood sugar level regularly. Don’t let anybody put fear in your minds, diabetes, has no cure for now, but it can be managed,” Obasanjo told the participants.