The Man of the Moment: Malam Nasir El-Rufai…
By Kamaluddeen Sani Shawai
AREWA AGENDA – Where speculation ends, the real drama begins. The immediate past Governor of Kaduna State Malam Nasir Elrufai until now has been a victim of criticism, hatred, cheap blackmail and all sorts of hostility. He was heavily ganged against by undesirable elements mostly of southern Kaduna extraction and their cohorts.
All for his conviction and belief in doing what is right no matter whose ox is gored.
Despite the mischief, Malam Nasir Elrufai continues to stand tall in the midst of his enemies and angry losers.
The renowned quantity surveyor, and consultant in the construction industry for years, faced similar challenges as the Minister of Federal Capital Territory Abuja between 2003 and 2007. However, his legacies remain a case study.
His critics might have forgotten or not known that he successfully renegotiated Nigeria’s Debt with the Paris Club and pursued wide-ranging reforms in Nigeria’s Economic Management Team during Obasanjo’s regime.
Elrufai is a personality who always deemphasized ethnicity, nepotism and regionalism in the discharge of any leadership responsibility.
According to him and I quote ” If we want our citizens to invest in common causes, to work in mutual endeavours for progress and to build a society of merit, hard work and fairness, we must do away with religion in politics in making political decisions centered around citizens.”
So, the question is why such a fine elder Statesman who is surrounded by many including his progressive loyalists like the present Governor His Excellency, Senator Uba Sani, Rt Hon, Speaker House of Representatives Dr, Tajuddeen Abbas, Former Minister of Finance Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna, Hajiya Hadiza Bala Former Managing Director of Nigeria Port Authority and currently Special Adviser to Mr President, Late Former Deputy Governor Barnabas Bala Bantex, Hajiya Hannatu Musawa Special Adviser to Mr President, the current Deputy Governor Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe and Hajiya Amina Muhammad who is the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations among other technocrats since could be attributed to any form of bigotry?
Fortunately, Malam Nasiru is never deterred by such blackmail as he remains bold and confident in expressing his feelings and position on any matter.
He knows how to stand one’s ground, amidst confrontation, thereby making him a role model.
Without mincing any words, even his enemies if they can be sincere, could testify to how far he has gone and how well he contributed towards the victory of Jagaba in the 2023 Presidential elections.
Malam Nasir Elrufai contributed so much in supporting Bola Ahmed Tinubu/ Kassim Shettima APC ticket without looking back despite criticism by some who went all out to tarnish his image as well as calling Mr, President not to consider him for any national assignment.
With or without any position Malam Nasir Elrufai will continue to give his best to this country and as a leader, who distinguished himself character and service to his people.
He keeps on pushing his people and ensuring that they are placed in strategic positions so as to contribute their quota to the development of Kaduna State and Nigeria at large.
With all these characters and many more sterling qualities, it is baffling to see someone or a group driving pleasure out of smearing his image.
Probably and from all indications such must be a display of envy against his person.
In so many fora, Malam Nasir Elrufai explained in detail the rationale behind his decisions and actions that many see as unfair to them.
A case in point is the decision to pick a Muslim woman from southern Kaduna and again why he picked Senator Uba Sani as a Governor and his deputy as a Muslim.
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Typically, Kaduna is divided into three zones. While residents of Kaduna north and central are predominantly Muslim, residents of southern Kaduna are mainly Christians.
Malam El Rufai, who served for two terms from 2015 to 2023, said in the first tenure, he picked his long-term friend, Late Barnabas Bala, a southern Kaduna Christian, but was almost frustrated out of office in the first two years.
Some unnamed southern Kaduna elders were angry with him for not accepting a list of prospective Deputy Governorship candidates from people he called “self-appointed and so-called Southern Kaduna Christian elders”.
He also said Mr. Bala was hated for coming from a minority ethnic group, Moroa, and not the Atyap, Bajju, Jaba or Kagoro which led to some of them calling Mr Bala a “sellout”.
In the words of Elrufai, nothing prepared either Bantex or I for the viciousness with which he was treated by the constituency he was meant to be represented by his presence on the governorship ticket.
He offered thrice to resign from the office within our first two years in office. Bantex therefore, barely made it to the end of our first term, psychologically battered by the hostility and hobbled by a resurgence of ill-health… Bantex lost his bid to represent the Kaduna South Senatorial District in the 2019 election. We lost him a year or so later,” he said.
The former Federal Capital Territory Minister said what happened to Mr. Bala made him change his mind in selecting a running mate in 2019.
He said the decision to have a southern Kaduna Christian as a Deputy Governor in the state has not led to the desired unity and progress.
The Former Governor also said he decided to settle for a Muslim Southern Kaduna woman, Hadiza Balarabe, but the hostilities didn’t cease.
“For the 2019 election, my choice of running mate followed the established pattern, except in two particulars: gender and religion. Dr. Hadiza Balarabe is from a minority ethnic group (Gwantu) in southern Kaduna, but she is a woman and a Muslim.
“Her choice met with the usual hostility from the same persons that had so battered and demoralised Bantex, my first deputy.
But it demonstrated that not everyone who mouths diversity and inclusion is actually interested in those values.
The first woman to be elected as deputy governor from the far north of Nigeria was not seen as a pathfinder, a breakthrough for gender and a reaffirmation of the possibility of democracy to elect persons from minority and excluded groups.
Only one marker of identity seemed to matter in such quarters. But the fact that Bantex had that marker – religion – had saved neither him nor I from opprobrium,” he said.
Mr. El Rufai said that despite being of the same faith as Mrs. Balarabe, their administration was dedicated to the equality of all people of the state.
Despite sharing the same faith, we were bound by the injunctions of our Islamic faith, our oaths of office and our societal values to exercise our duties with fairness and justice.
Electing persons of the same faith is neither a threat to the rights of others nor a blow to inclusion: it may only have highlighted other identities that tend to be excluded, as we did in Kaduna State.
It’s all about democracy which entails a game of numbers. What we need, therefore, is peace and harmony, respect for our societal values and tolerance with fairness and justice.
Never be a person who sees nothing good about someone, no matter how hard he tries and never be a person who never wants to celebrate someone’s progress.
The likes of Malam Nasir Elrufai are rare and may not be found sooner In years to come from now and he will be remembered more for what he did in Kaduna state and Nigeria as a whole.
We will also continue to celebrate him as a true pan Nigerian project whose pedigree knows no boundaries when it comes to ethnicity, region and professionalism.
ALLAH YASA A GAMA LAFIYA MALAM…
Written by Kamaluddeen Sani Shawai from Kano, Nigeria
