Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed why he turned down a suggestion to make former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, his successor, saying the ex-minister “needed to mature” before assuming such a high office.
Obasanjo made the revelation in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during a leadership symposium where former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, delivered the keynote address on ‘The importance of leadership in governance’.
The elder statesman explained that while he admired El-Rufai’s brilliance during his tenure, he felt it was too early to consider him for the nation’s top job.
“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. I brushed it aside because El-Rufai needed to mature,” Obasanjo said,
According to Obasanjo, the recommendation came when El-Rufai was still in his 30s.
“Later, he came back to me and asked why I did not agree. I told him El-Rufai needed to mature. And years later, when he saw the performances of El-Rufai, he came back to say, ‘You were absolutely correct.’”
Chidoka, who served under Obasanjo and later became Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), had earlier recalled how El-Rufai played a key role in his appointment. He said the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory recommended him to the president when he was just 34 years old, a move that brought him closer to national leadership.
Reflecting on the story, Chidoka said Nigeria’s political culture often struggles to build systems that outlive individuals.
“Leadership finds its true measure not in speeches or charisma, but in the systems it leaves behind. Nigeria’s problem has never been a shortage of ideas; it is the absence of systems strong enough to outlive their authors,” he noted.
Obasanjo’s remarks are not the first time he has publicly commented on El-Rufai’s political journey. In earlier interviews, the former president had acknowledged El-Rufai’s intellect and energy, but described him as “sometimes too restless.”
Similarly, in a 2021 interview, El-Rufai himself admitted that he shared a complicated relationship with Obasanjo, describing the former leader as “a father figure who was both supportive and demanding.”
In 2023, El-Rufai also revealed that Obasanjo once blocked a proposal to appoint him as a running mate to another political figure due to what he called “issues of timing and readiness.”
The event attracted several prominent figures, including the Senator representing Ogun Central, Shuaibu Salis; the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Saka Matemilola; the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege; and former Ogun State First Lady, Mrs Olufunsho Amosun.
