Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed why he rejected a suggestion to appoint former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, as his successor.

Speaking in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Obasanjo revealed that former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka, had recommended El-Rufai for the role, but he declined the proposal.

Chidoka, who served as the keynote speaker at the event, recounted how El-Rufai had earlier recommended him to President Obasanjo at the age of 34—a move that led to his appointment as Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

Addressing the audience, Obasanjo teased Chidoka for omitting part of the story.

“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,” Obasanjo said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

The former president explained that he dismissed the idea because he believed El-Rufai needed more experience.

“I did not yield to the pressure. Later, he asked, ‘I suggested this person, why didn’t you agree?’ I told him El-Rufai needed to mature. When I left government and, years later, he saw El-Rufai’s performance, he came back to me and said, ‘You were absolutely correct—El-Rufai needed to mature,’” Obasanjo recounted.

Despite his earlier reservations, Obasanjo praised Chidoka, El-Rufai, and other members of his administration for their intelligence and diligence, describing them as some of the driving forces behind his government’s success.

Speaking on the event’s theme, “Importance of Leadership in Governance,” the former president underscored character, exposure, experience, and training as vital qualities of effective leadership.

“It’s only in politics that I found 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,” Obasanjo said.

Delivering his keynote address, Mr. Chidoka attributed Nigeria’s leadership challenges to what he described as “excuses and the politics of alibi.”

“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. Nigeria’s problem has never been a shortage of ideas; it is the absence of systems strong enough to outlive their authors,” he stated.

Among the dignitaries present at the event were Senator Shuaibu Salis, representing Ogun Central; the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Saka Matemilola; the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege; and former Ogun State First Lady, Mrs. Olufunsho Amosun.