Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Wednesday he has been battling diabetes for more than 35 years.

Obasanjo, who disclosed this at the closing ceremony of the Ogun State Diabetes Youth Development Camp held in Abeokuta, however, said he has successfully managed the disease that had killed 1.5 million people across the world as at 2019.

He said: “I’m still doing many things many people of my age cannot do. Since I was diagnosed with diabetes, a number of my friends have died and the reason is that they just did not manage their diabetes the way they should manage it.

Obasanjo stressed that there is no cure for the disease which can only be effectively managed through a healthy lifestyle.

The ex-President added: “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.

“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.”