Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed that he once rejected a proposal for former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-Rufai, to succeed him as President at the end of his administration in 2007.
Obasanjo said he turned down the idea because he believed El-Rufai, who served under him as Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and later as Minister of the FCT, was “not yet mature enough” to govern a country as complex as Nigeria.
The former president made the revelation on Friday during the second edition of the Ajibosin Platform Annual Symposium held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
His comment came after former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, delivered a keynote address in which he recounted 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 (FRSC).
Midway through Chidoka’s speech, Obasanjo interjected, recalling a part of the story that had been left out.
“Let him tell you,” Obasanjo said with a smile. “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 playfully to Chidoka, he added, “No be so?” — to which the former aviation minister 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 president went on to commend both El-Rufai and Chidoka, along with other members of his former administration, describing them as “individuals with special attributes” who made valuable contributions to the success of his government between 1999 and 2007.
