The most successful era in Nigeria’s history was the second tenure of Obasanjo – El-Rufai

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai stated that, in his view, the second term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the period of Nigeria’s “most successful” economic growth, job creation, and inflation rate. He said this during a session at the Africa In the World conference held in Stellenbosch, South Africa on Friday.

According to him, oil prices began to rise during this period but the Obasanjo government did not waste the windfall.

He said that Nigeria’s fiscal health was at its best in 2007, such that when the global financial crisis took place in 2008, the country did not feel it.

“If you look at Nigeria’s economic trajectory, the most successful four to five-year period of economic growth, job creation, and reduced inflation was the period of the second term of President Obasanjo in 2003 to 2007, when for the first time, the country went back into proper integrated planning and we also got lucky,” he said.