Babachir David Lawal is an astute political strategist and a major force in the opposition ADC party that is poised to challenge the ruling party and to shape the outlook of not only the 2027 election but of national politics as a whole
Babachir David Lawal: bold and fearless advocate for a fair and equitable Nigerian polity:
Personal Attributes, Social Engagement & Characteristics:
B. D. Lawal, as he is commonly called, is a 71-year-old Nigerian politician. Though he started out aspiring to be a soldier and attending military college, he was also an aspirant priest, and was for a period, a seminarian. Later on, he changed course, attended the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, and became a certified electrical engineer. Finally, he ended up as a businessman and a politician of national stature. The holder of a university degree in electrical engineering, B.D. Lawal is a successful entrepreneur who is financially stable and physically healthy. He is a strong-willed, highly opinionated, and confident person, who is imbued with a sense of his self-worth and forthrightness.
Having served as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), he is an established national political leader who is deeply loyal to his political convictions, and who is committed to the enthronement of good governance and the reversal of the socio-political malaises that plaques the Nigerian State. His strategic planning and political leadership acumen are visibly seen in the roles he played as State Coordinator of the Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO), Adamawa State, (2005 2010); Member, Congress For Progressive Change (CPC) National Contact and Mobilization Committee (2010 2013); All Progressive Congress (APC) Merger Committee, 2013; Ex-Officious Member, All Progressives Congress (APC) Interim Management Committee (2013 2014); APC National Vice Chairman, North East (2014 to 2015); Member of APC Presidential Campaign Committee (2015).
His efforts and contributions in these positions culminated in the victory of the APC in the 2015 presidential election, and in his appointment as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
B.D. Lawal’s no-hold-back bold and assertive personality is attributes that stand him out as a natural leader in Nigeria’s political leadership circles.
While normatively strong-willed and forceful, he is also a reasonable and considerate person, who, though ever willing to stand his ground and to strongly defend his viewpoints ensures that his positions and opinions are just, fair, and serve the best interest of the larger society. His antecedents show that he is a person who values issues about justice, equity, and good governance. Thus, he often engages the media in political discourses in which he provides insightful socio-political critiques which are invaluable for understanding the challenges of governance in present-day Nigeria.
Political Vision, Ideological Stance & Leadership Engagement
As a pioneer national vice-chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and the first Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF) under the APC, B.D. Lawal had dedicated himself to seeing that the ‘change’ slogan upon which the APC rode to power lead to the reshaping of Nigeria’s political trajectory along the paths of inclusive social and economic progress. When this turned out not to be the case, Babachir Lawal, an unrepentant advocate of justice, inclusive politics, and a strong believer that peaceful coexistence and sustainable national development are only attainable through the guarantees of cultural and religious balance in our multi-religious and culturally diversified country, quickly rebelled, and kicked against the slide of the leadership of the APC to unabashed ethno-religious suprematism and cronyism.
Thus, he actively engaged with key stakeholders from across all the leading opposition groups and politicians, under the aegis of the National Opposition Coalition Group (NOCG) to build a formidable opposition alliance to challenge the inadequacies of ethnocentric APC federal government, and to return the country to the culture and practice of equitable and inclusive governance. His inclusion in the contact and mobilization committee of the coalition group, a role that saddled on him the responsibility of identifying and co-opting every opposition group and politician in the country into the coalition, is a statement of the confidence that the other leaders of the opposition have in B.D. Lawal’s leadership credentials.
Though he maintains his friendship and loyalty to former president Mohammadu Buhari, B.D. Lawal is one of the few leaders of the APC who recognized and acknowledged the failures of the Buhari government relative to its ‘change’ campaign promises. However, he blames this failure on the incompetent provincial appointees who dominated the government, particularly after he was forced out of the position of a key policy adviser to the president, following his removal as the SGF, a situation which deprived President Buhari of his advisory shield and policy guidance. Thereafter, the APC government began its inexorable slide towards divisive ethnocentric proclivities, a slide which has led to the present condemnable arrogant unabashed provinciality, and ethnocentric imbalance in governance, which is being practiced by the President Tinubu-led APC federal government.
While Engineer Babachir Lawal openly decries the unfair treatment in the allocations of political offices and infrastructural projects melted to the northern region where he hails from by the ruling APC federal government, nonetheless, B.D. is a leader who cannot be pigeon-holed as a regional champion. For him, his opposition and grievances are rooted in his wider advocacy for the inclusive and equitable governance of the country. It is this same advocacy for justice and equity that made him kick against the APC’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the 2015 elections, a ticket that disdained and marginalized the non-Muslim population of the country. It also explained his full support and championing of the presidential campaign of Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who is from the Southeast region of the country, even though Northerners such as Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP, were also on the ballot. B.D. Lawal’s stance was that the presidency should go to the southeast for the sake of power rotation equity, which the political sentiment in 2015 inclined towards.
Babachir believes that power should not be grabbed and snatched just because one can. Rather, he advocates for greater emphasis to be placed on fairness, character, and competence. Thus, his viewpoint aligns with the widely held views that Nigeria’s problem is deeply rooted in systemic leadership failures, impunity, and institutional decay. This makes him not just an activistic political leader, but a political player who is actively shaping the discourse on governance in Nigeria. His politics is not regionally confined but is broad, nationalistic, and centered on instituting equity and balance in government to ensure a stronger and united Nigeria.
Influence & Networks
Having worked in esteemed organizations such as Delta Steel Company, Aladja, between 1979 and 1984, where he rose to the position of Senior Engineer, and from 1984 to 1986, at Nigerian External Telecommunications Ltd, Lagos where he was a Principal Engineer, and later on at Data Sciences Nigeria Ltd, from 1986 to 1989, where he attained the position of Regional Manager, following which, he established his own company, Rholavision Engineering Ltd, which is based in Kaduna, a business which he ran successfully until he was appointed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on the 27th of August, 2015, B.D. Lawal has developed deep connections to Nigeria’s business and political elite, including its topmost traditional rulers, religious, business, and political leaders. This has enabled him to be an influential voice in the country’s power circles, granting him unfettered access to former Presidents, Vice Presidents, military leaders, and top policymakers across the country.
Also, B.D. Lawal’s present status as a major stakeholder of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the adopted party of National Opposition Coalition Group (NOCG), draws from the strength of his widespread network that spans the business, professional, political, traditional, and religious elites of the country. It is a status that engages him in high-level, high-stakes, consultations with diverse interests and groups in and outside the ADC, with him playing the role of a bridge between different political ambitions, interest, and egos, as they work to build the party into a coherent and formidable political platform.
Advocacy & Social Contributions
As a trained soldier, a seminarian, a well-practiced professional Engineer, and a consummate political organizer, B.D. Lawal has a deep interest in Nigeria’s socio-political developments, particularly as it pertains to its leadership transitions and constitutional governance. He is among the few political leaders who are rigorously challenging divisive, narrow, and exclusionist governance principles, a trait which he exhibited in his firm and resolute stance against the exclusionist Muslim-Muslim presidential tag team and the ethnocentric proclivities of the present APC federal government of president Bola Tinubu.
B. D. Lawal has spoken extensively on leadership, governance, and national development and his interest in matters that affect Nigeria’s socio-political and socio-economic development remains un-waning.
His media presentations are always enlightening, and they provide the public with insights into past events, leadership performances, and regional power dynamics in contemporary Nigeria. These public engagements are platforms in which he counters propagandist narratives and proffers his views and approaches to the issues in question in his trademark bold and unapologetic manner, such that his opinion and stance are never in doubt.
Business & Economic Interests
B.D. Lawal is not just a front-line political actor, he is also a successful entrepreneur and businessman. His company, Rholavision Engineering Ltd, is a well-established outfit in the Information Technology (IT) and engineering services sector, which is among Nigeria’s most strategic economic sectors. He is also involve in agriculture and operates a large-scale farm in Adamawa state which integrates crop farming and cattle husbandry. His substantial investment in cattle ranching revealed his zest to pilot the modernization of animal husbandry in the country. By this investment, he is leading the migration from the prevalent free-land cattle grazing tradition, which is the source of the destructive farmer-herder feuds raging across the country, to a more animal, environment-friendly, and sustainable cattle rearing model.
Personal & Social Life
B. D. Lawal is a well-respected Christian family man with a stable marital life. Being a person of high moral rectitude, a character trait that is a direct derivative of his early-life background as a seminarian, he is a serious-minded person who has no inclinations for amoral engagements, and is not given to social frivolities. He is one of the few political leaders who have been successful in shielding his family from the vagaries of his public life exposures.
Also, despite his wide exposure in business and high-stake politics, he remains untainted by the arch-typical debauched scandals common in top business and political circuits of the country. B.D. is a man of deep religious and patriotic convictions and will not compromise his Christian faith or tolerate its denigration or slight; the same way he kicks against political inequalities, injustices, and unfairness. This is evident by how he openly proclaims his faith, challenges, and calls out this government for its unfair distribution of political offices and projects in the country. This character trait is proof of his ability to maintain a balanced perspective on personal and public life, separating private life from public life and national service.
Strategic Goals & Future Directions
Even at 71 years of age, B. D. Lawal is not slowing down and his activities show that he is not a politician who is merely reacting to Nigeria’s political situation, but is one of the few persons who is actively shaping it. His present role in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), whose larger objective is to reshape Nigeria’s political framework and leadership culture, attests to this.
His regular engagements with Nigeria’s top leadership figures, like former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, and former and serving state governors like Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Ameachi, Rauf Aregbesola, and a host of other top leaders across the country, suggests that he is seriously committed to collaborating and working with them in the ADC’s mission to rescue the country from its trepidatious slide down the road of social and economic ruin.
B.D. Lawal’s current association with the ADC, is in furtherance of his strategic goal of guiding the party to victory in the 2027 election, and to help in engineering a new framework for the just, equitable, and good governance of the country. It is a goal that ranks among his most challenging political undertaking. But, inspired by his previous strategic inputs which led to the formation of the ruling APC, its successful presidential bid, and the election of President Mohammadu Buhari in 2015, B.D. Lawal is committed to the present cause, and he is optimistic about its eventual success, and thereafter, of the reinvigoration of the social, political, and economic foundations of Nigeria. This is why, more than anything presently, B.D. Lawal is deeply involved in high-level political consultations to influence the 2027 presidential elections, and to reshape the broader power dynamics of Nigeria going forward.
The widespread opinion is that his work with the National Opposition Coalition Group (NOCG) and the ADC could become one of the most pivotal political operations in Nigeria and, if assiduously implemented, could result in the renewal of hope in Nigeria’s democracy, and in the economic and social rebirth of the country.
Prognosis and Final Words
Engineer Babachir Lawal comes along as a very serious person who is not given to mundane frivolities. He is an expert engineer of political strategies, an advocate of fairness and equity in governance, and a leader who is deeply committed to engineering the social and economic progress of Nigeria. His approach is direct, bold, and pragmatic, balancing historic networks, past experience, and present political engagements. He prioritizes competence, fairness, and creditable leadership, attributes which position him as a key player in shaping Nigeria’s future.
In conclusion, B.D. Lawal’s profile is one of firmness, equity, strategy, and patriotic leadership. As a soldier, seminarian, businessman, and politician, he blends all these roles into a vision of a revitalized and prosperous Nigeria – a profile which eminently qualifies him as one of the leaders whose words and works will defintively determine Nigeria’s post-2027 socio-political outlooks.
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