Bolaji Abdullahi Speaks: Saraki’s Defection Forced My Exit From Jonathan’s Administration

Former Minister of Youth Development and Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, has revealed that his appointment into the Federal Executive Council by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan came without any prior personal connection.

Abdullahi disclosed this in his memoir, The Loyalist, which is set for public presentation on Tuesday.

The 297-page book chronicles his two-decade journey in Nigerian politics, offering insights into governance at both state and federal levels, as well as the personal costs of political loyalty.

According to Abdullahi, his ministerial appointment came shortly after completing his tenure as Commissioner for Education in Kwara State. He was one of eight nominees forwarded to President Jonathan for consideration from the state and stressed that he had no prior personal relationship with the president.

He acknowledged, however, that his close political ties with Kwara State leadership played a role in his nomination. Abdullahi had served under former Governor Bukola Saraki, first as a special assistant from 2003 and later as commissioner from 2007. Saraki’s second-term successor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, was also one of his former commissioners.

Abdullahi described his tenure as minister, largely designed to fulfil constitutional requirements, as politically tense.

“For most of my time as minister, I felt like a man on death row who did not know when his executioner would come,” he wrote.

He recounted being listed among ministers expected to be dismissed on September 11, 2013. While he survived that initial purge, he was eventually removed from office on March 5, 2014, a move he said was made almost inevitable by the prevailing political climate.

Abdullahi linked his dismissal to the political clash between Jonathan and Saraki, who had by then defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside 11 other senators and five governors—a move widely seen as a major blow to Jonathan’s re-election prospects.

As a known Saraki loyalist within Jonathan’s cabinet, Abdullahi said he became a subject of suspicion.

“Even my colleagues could not hide their suspicion,” he wrote.

Anticipating his dismissal, Abdullahi said he prepared himself and his family for a sudden exit.

“Since my appointment, I had organised myself in such a way that I would not require much time to move out. I never planned for anything beyond a four-month cycle,” he wrote.

He emphasized that ministerial appointments are entirely at the president’s discretion. Abdullahi initially viewed himself as a technocrat rather than a politician, a stance encouraged by Saraki when he joined the cabinet in 2011.

“Partisan politics did not interest me,” he wrote, adding that he preferred to focus on his work. However, he later realised that ministerial positions are inherently political, particularly as elections approach.

Abdullahi said Saraki’s defection forced him into a moral dilemma: either renounce his political mentor to prove loyalty to Jonathan or remain loyal to Saraki and risk losing his position.

“At that point, only a total disavowal of Saraki could have saved me. But that would also have meant renouncing the very principles my father taught me were more important than all the riches in the world,” he wrote, describing himself as “the grass suffering while two elephants fought.”

He avoided discussing Saraki’s defection directly with Jonathan, fearing it could be misconstrued as political manoeuvring or force him to take sides. Abdullahi noted that Jonathan appeared to dislike treachery, even when committed in his favour.

“I never did because I was afraid he might misconstrue my motive, and I would have ended up waving a red flag at an otherwise friendly bull,” he said.

In contrast, Abdullahi felt more at ease discussing the issue with Saraki, though he was careful not to reveal how the senator’s tensions with Jonathan were affecting him personally.

“A couple of times, I asked him what the real problem was with the president, and he explained what he thought it was. I was careful not to tell him how his relationship with Jonathan was reflecting on me and how I was suffering as a result. I knew he could be very suspicious and even distrustful,” he wrote.