Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has disclosed that he once turned down a proposal to support former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as his successor at the end of his tenure in 2007.
Obasanjo, speaking on Friday during the second edition of the Ajibosin Platform Annual Symposium in Abeokuta, Ogun State, said he believed El-Rufai was not yet mature enough to lead the country at the time.
El-Rufai served under Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007, first as Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and later as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
The revelation came after former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, who delivered the keynote address, recalled how El-Rufai introduced him to Obasanjo at the age of 34, a meeting that led to his appointment as Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps.
Interrupting Chidoka’s presentation, Obasanjo said, “Let him tell you. He didn’t mention that. He was pushing when I was leaving government that his friend, El-Rufai, should be brought in as my successor.”
Turning to Chidoka, he asked jokingly: “No be so (Is that not true)?” Chidoka nodded in agreement.
Obasanjo explained that he rejected the idea because El-Rufai still needed time to grow politically and personally.
“I did not yield to the pressure. Later, he said, ‘I suggested this person, why didn’t you agree?’ I said El-Rufai needs to mature. You remember?
“When I left government and, many years later, he saw the performances of El-Rufai, he came back to me and said, ‘You’re absolutely correct. El-Rufai needed to mature,’” Obasanjo recalled.
The ex-president went on to commend Chidoka, El-Rufai, and other members of his cabinet, describing them as individuals with “special attributes” that strengthened his administration.
Speaking on leadership, Obasanjo stressed the importance of training and character. He said, “It’s only in politics that I found out there is no training for leadership. Even among armed robbers, I was told there is an apprenticeship. But it’s only in politics that there is no training in leadership. That’s not good enough.”
Chidoka Speaks On Nigeria’s Governance Challenges
In his address, Chidoka said Nigeria’s persistent problems were not due to a lack of ideas but to failure in building lasting systems and institutions.
“Leadership finds its true measure not in speeches or charisma but in the systems it leaves behind.
“Moral conviction must translate into the everyday machinery of governance, rules, routines, and institutions that make competence predictable and corruption difficult,” he said.
Chidoka called for stronger accountability frameworks, adding, “We must therefore make leadership accountable not to rhetoric but to results: measure by building national dashboards and accountability systems that track every promise, every budget, every outcome. Monitor by strengthening the institutions that evaluate government performance and expose complacency.”
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