Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has opened up on why he refused to choose former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as his preferred successor when he was leaving office in 2007.
Speaking at the second edition of the Ajibosin Platform Annual Symposium held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Obasanjo disclosed that El-Rufai was one of his trusted aides during his administration.
However, he turned down the suggestion to make him president because he believed the former FCT Minister was “not yet mature enough” to handle Nigeria’s leadership at the time.
According to Obasanjo, the idea was pushed to him towards the end of his administration, but he refused to yield, insisting that El-Rufai still had a lot to learn before being ready for such responsibility.
The former president made the revelation while reacting to a speech by former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, who delivered the keynote address at the event.
Chidoka had recalled how El-Rufai introduced him to Obasanjo at age 34; a meeting that later led to his appointment as the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Interrupting Chidoka’s remarks, Obasanjo said with a smile, “Let him tell you. He didn’t mention that when I was leaving government, he was pushing that his friend, El-Rufai, should be brought in as my successor.” Turning to Chidoka, he added jokingly, “No be so?” to which Chidoka nodded in agreement.
Obasanjo continued, “I did not yield to the pressure. Later, he asked why I didn’t agree, and I told him El-Rufai needed to mature. Many years later, after seeing his performance, he came back to me and said, ‘You were absolutely correct — El-Rufai needed to mature.’”
The former head of state commended El-Rufai, Chidoka, and other members of his former team, describing them as capable individuals who played key roles in the success of his administration between 1999 and 2007.
Speaking further on leadership, the former president stressed that character, exposure, and proper training are essential for anyone aspiring to lead, lamenting that politics in Nigeria often lacks a structure for leadership development.
“It’s only in politics that I found out there is no training for leadership. Even among armed robbers, I was told there is apprenticeship. But in politics, there’s no training for leadership. That’s not good enough,” he stated.
Also speaking at the event, Chidoka maintained that Nigeria’s major problem has never been the lack of ideas but the failure to build strong institutions that promote accountability and continuity.
He emphasized that “moral conviction must translate into the everyday machinery of governance: rules, routines, and institutions that make competence predictable and corruption difficult.”
The symposium, themed Leadership, Governance, and Institutional Renewal in Nigeria, drew several political figures, academics, and policy advocates in the country.
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.