Why El-Rufai should face his cross

In a tactical maneuver to deflect attention from the allegations of gross maladministration, corruption and embezzlement of hundreds of billions of naira belonging to Kaduna state when he ran the most opaque system of government in history, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai has craftily and insidiously initiated an unwarranted vitriol against Nigeria’s current National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

Having lost both the moral standing and the endorsement of the court of public opinion as a result of his eighth year misrule in Kaduna state, El-Rufai thought the only way he could get some reprieve and public sympathy in his self-inflicted travail was to launch a war against the federal government using Ribadu as a launching pad. The midget who has recently been running from pillar to post for cover found solace in the little altercation between Ribadu and Naja’atu.

For the expediency of putting this discourse into clear and proper context, it is pertinent to state why El-Rufai became hesitant to pick up an unnecessary war against the federal government using Ribadu as a decoy so that should Kaduna state government decide to take his graft case to EFCC or ICPC, the general public will be misled into believing that his arrest was contrived because of his valiant stance to challenge the government. Mallam! you cannot deceive the people on this because it is glaring that the prayers of Kaduna people who were victimised by your insensitive, vindictive, haughty, callous, and inept leadership will never go in vain.

If Uba Sani, the man El-Rufai single-handedly handpicked and brought to power against all odds, could not stomach the stench oozing from the carcass of Kaduna state, then, El-Rufai is a goner. Knowing that his date with karma is a settled issue, El-Rufai has, in a fit of delusion, transformed from a tyrant to a human rights activist.

During his tyrannical and feudal years, El-Rufai, who led Kaduna like an emperor and succeeded in making Kaduna a conquered territory, ran the state with blithe regard and total indifference for the rule of law and decorum. In the process, he used state instruments to crush real and perceived enemies with impunity, desecrated the temple of justice, sacked thousands of workers, destroyed the economy, made corruption a state policy, exacerbated social insecurity and ran the state aground. As God will have it, the nemesis of his years of atrocious reign caught up with him when the Nigerian Senate rejected his ministerial nomination based on his indictment by a security report. At the same time, God also gave his successor the courage to spite him in the face for running the state aground. 

With these two unfavorable events, El-Rufai found himself perpetually swimming against the tide, and his attempt to seek succour from both the law courts and the court of public opinion met a brick wall because of his past misdeeds.

But as the aphorism goes that a drowning man can clutch on straws for survival, he thought that mocking and rebuking the federal government will earn him an undeserved soft landing. In his wild calculation, El-Rufai was deluded into believing that besmirching Nuhu Ribadu, a man with impeccable record and unimpeachable integrity, will give him the lifeline he desperately needed.

For the sake of setting the records, it is important to point out the numerous contributions Ribadu gave to El-Rufai in the course of their friendship. Such friendly disposition and support came to Ribadu at an astonishingly high cost, leading to the worst persecution he suffered in life in the hands of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua government which eventually led to his self-exile.

In the build up to the 2007 presidential election, Ribadu stood stoutly behind the presidential ambition of El-Rufai to the extent he met with President Olusegun Obasanjo and told him in clear terms not to support Yar’Adua because of the allegation of corruption dangling on his head. Ribadu took the trouble to inform Obasanjo because of his patriotic fervour to ensure the country was led well. In order to convince the president, Ribadu launched a concerted move to bring the massive corruption hoisted by Yar’Adua to the limelight and in the process, he even arrested some officials of the state government including commissioners. But because Obasanjo has a predetermined mindset to install Yar’Adua all the allegations fell on deaf ears.

That singular support to bolster El-Rufai’s presidential bid as stated earlier proved costly as no sooner than Yar’Adua became the president, Ribadu came under serious belligerence of the federal government culminating into attempts on his life which finally forced him to go on self-exile.

Unfortunately, when Ribadu was chosen to fly the presidential ticket of ACN in 2011, El-Rufai did not only sabotage the move, but also deployed all his might to subvert it. Another despicable act of treachery he meted to Ribadu was during the eight year reign of Buhari, El-Rufai who was one of the principal honchos and power brokers, blocked Ribadu from getting anything from the government despite his immense support to the presidential ambition of the former President Muhammadu Buhari. It may be recalled that Buhari’s government has encountered some headwinds with the international community leading the community to develop cold feet towards the president’s second term bid. At that time, El-Rufai urged Buhari to enlist Ribadu as the chief image launderer of his administration. Ribadu carried out the task with outstanding panache and passion winning the international community back to the side of Buhari. On that premise, Buhari made a successful come back.

But despite the support, Ribadu who was promised a juicy portfolio, was still ignored due to intense and undue pressure from El-Rufai. But despite the huge injustice meted to him, Ribadu has remained supportive to the government of Buhari and never raised a voice of dissent against the government unlike what El-Rufai is doing today.

El-Rufai has over the years earned infamous reputation for treachery, blackmail, double speak and falsehood to the extent that there is no personality who helped him on his way up who did not come under the direct savagery of the man. 

The little man with a huge ego is a psychopathic megalomaniac who constitutes a threat to himself and others. In addition, he cannot maintain loyalty to anyone regardless of the help he got from them. It is, therefore, not surprising that amongst the persons who paved the way for El-Rufai’s career growth and political trajectory, no one has any kind words for him. It is not surprising either that Obasanjo upbraided and rebuked him in unvarnished pejorative language in his memoir, My Watch. He said, “I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue for long, but only to Nasir El – Rufai. I have heard of how he viciously savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who was like his foster father. Character wise, Nasir has not much going for him.

“My vivid recollection of him is his penchant for lying, for unfair embellishment of stories and his inability to sustain loyalty for long. I believe that he can still be used in public service under guidance and sufficient oversight, making allowance for the psychology of his petit size. He was described as a malicious liar. He was more than that; he is a pathological purveyor of untruths and half-truths with little or no regard for integrity.”

People like Atiku Abubakar, Obasanjo, Nuhu Ribadu, and even Buhari will continue to suffer collateral damage from the man whose only obeseince to anyone lies in patronage and material benefits. As I said, the man is a threat to himself and others. May God save us from the savagery of lowly characters.