"Obasanjo’s Hand-Picked Successors": El-Rufai Challenges Lawyers in Fresh Remarks
- Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna state, has lamented that former President Olusegun Obasanjo's successors and subsequent leaders failed to sustain national progress after 2007
- El-Rufai, who spoke at the 2025 Law Week of the NBA Bwari Branch, noted that the chances of Nigerian leaders after Obasanjo to manage the country's prosperity were squandered
- The former governor then challenged the lawyers to confront the decaying justice in the country, adding that it appeared that the only law that works is the choice of the executive
Bwari, Abuja - The immediate past governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, has criticised Nigerian leaders who succeeded former President Olusegun Obasanjo's government for allegedly failing to sustain the national progress that was achieved when the latter left office in 2007.
El-Rufai, who spoke at the 2025 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Bwari Branch, challenged the legal professionals to step up their game in maintaining their positions as reformers in the face of national turbulence.
Source: Twitter
El-Rufai laments Nigeria's challenges
According to News Central TV, the former governor maintained that Nigeria is at a critical phase in its history, contrary to the opportunity it had when Obasanjo left office in 2007.
The chieftain of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) added that Obasanjo’s successors, whom he claimed were handpicked by the former president, 'squandered' the opportunity.
He added that the last time Nigeria had the opportunity to prosper was in 2007, when the country was largely free of foreign debt and had over $40bn as net (not gross) foreign reserves.
According to the ex-governor, Nigeria also had nearly $30bn in the Excess Crude Account then.
His comment further reads:
“Tragicall, Obasanjo’s hand-picked successors were unable to manage what was bequeathed to them, and it has been mostly downhill since then.”
Source: Twitter
El-Rufai speaks at NBA 2025 Law Week
Speaking on the keynote titled “Lawyers as Agents of Change: Navigating Economic Reforms, Judicial Policy and Contemporary Issues,” the former governor challenged legal practitioners to rise to their role as the "custodians of conscience" and address any systemic failures in the country, particularly in the judiciary.
He lamented that the gap between law and justice in Nigeria appeared to be wide, adding that justice is dying, while the law being administered seems to reflect the wishes of the executive.
El-Rufai, who recently dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the SDP, has been a major critic of President Bola Tinubu's administration and championed the call for a coalition by other opposition leaders to sack the president in the 2027 presidential election.
Below is a clip of El-Rufai's address at the event:
El-Rufai speaks on contesting in 2027
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nasir El-Rufai clarified he had yet to announce interest in the 2027 presidential election despite speculations.
The former governor stated this in an interview while speaking on the possibility of taking on President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
El-Rufai recently criticised the Tinubu-led administration and the APC after engaging with several opposition leaders.
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Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
