Opinion: In defence of El-Rufai, by Kola Amzat

More than two months after he was inaugurated, we are still very much in the euphoric state concerning Asiwaju Tinubu’s presidency. The generality of Nigerians are deeply appreciative and thankful to nature for ensuring that Bola Tinubu eventually berthed in Aso Villa.

Thankfully, the president has not disappointed a bit and he won’t. Indeed, he has justified the tremendous trust and confidence the entire nation reposed in him.

But, his, was a victory snatched from the jaw of hopelessness. After several plots and clandestine moves to truncate his emergence as APC presidential flag-bearer by the forces that held former President Buhari captive had totally collapsed, the immediate past chairman of the party, Adamu Abdulahi hurriedly and mischievously contrived another idea of consensus candidate with Ahmad Lawan at the epic-centre of the project.    

Like a roaring lion set to completely devour her prey, El-Rufai courageously arose, mobilized and convinced precisely his then North West governor colleagues, marched them to Aso Villa to impress it on the immediate past president the danger of conceding to the destructive and wicked arrangement of the immediate past chairman of APC.

El-Rufai team also re-emphasized to Buhari that it’s absolutely important and expedient for the power to shift to the South. They asserted to the then president that, that was the mood of the nation and any contrary move could be catastrophic.

That historic session they had with Buhari happened to be the turning point for Tinubu presidency, as the immediate past president had no option but, to buckle.

Also, Nigerians vividly recall how El-Rufai singlehandedly battled Godwin Emefiele, the disgraced CBN governor to standstill, in the latter’s attempt to deploy his widely condemnable currency redesign contraption to frustrate Tinubu’s ambition.

The former Kaduna governor deployed the BBC Hausa networks to mobilize and convince the whole North on their need to be steadfast and remained firm in their support for Asiwaju Tinubu presidency, reminding the highly politically informed segment of the country that, that remained the plausible option for the country after the North had occupied Aso Villa for 8 years.

Today, it’s the same El-Rufai that the Nigerian Senate has opted to be tossing up and down. No doubt, National Assembly as an independent arm of government must do their work, but, they need to be circumspect, as well as employ the tool of initiative, restrain, and doctrine of necessity when faced with a complex issue like the ‘security report’ presented against likes of ex-Kaduna governor by a young Senator from Kogi state.

El-Rufai, presided for 8 years over a state unarguably the most volatile in the entire country. No other state in Nigeria has the degree of ethnic minority tensions and conflicts as in southern Kaduna. This challenge has probably engendered far more serious violence than any other forms of communal instability in recent Nigerian history.

Of course, these conflicts and tensions have deep roots in northern Nigerian history. For ages, complex forms of clientage and vassalage have developed between the dominant Hausa-Fulani bloc with population of about 60% and the 35% pagan population of Zazzau.

The pagan tribes were traditionally the legitimate target for slave-raiding, the exaction of tribute and other forms of domination by the Hausa-Fulani. The political and military vulnerability of the pagan groups to Hausa-Fulani hegemony arose from their relatively inferior technology, smaller settlements and decentralized modes of political organization, all of which rendered them relatively defenceless in the face of Hausa-Fulani expansionism.

During El-rufai time as governor, the conflict spilled over also to Northern Kaduna, resulting in death of several indigenes, associated with carnage and destruction of properties. This was the challenge of governance that the ex-governor battled with throughout his tenure. 

Also, very dominant in the state was the activity of El-ZakyZaky religious fundamentalist group before the advent of El-Rufai administration. To submit that this group is destructive and very disruptive is simply understatement. This was a group that confronted the convoy of COAS in battle and was only overpowered after several hours.

Besides the aforementioned, the illustrious and stoic El-Rufai might have stepped on many toes while patriotically and passionately discharging his official responsibility as Minister in charge of FCT, Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and, as one of the close confidants of immediate past president.

Nigerians would be living in fool paradise if we refused to acknowledge that so many disgruntled elements would be on the trail of ex-Kaduna to un-horse him with frivolous petitions like the one presented by that Kogi state lawmaker, Senator Sunday Karimi.

Let me say emphatically and without mincing words that, El-Rufai doesn’t deserve the treatment meted onto him by the senate. Even, during the screening, his performance and submissions was top-notch.

He is one of Nigerians symbol of patriotism. Notwithstanding his diminutive frame, he’s rugged, bold, courageous, blunt, honest & trustworthy, and more importantly, a man of conviction.

In a country like ours with so much ethnicity, religious bigotry, ideological recklessness, deep-rooted strife & envy, mutual suspicion and jealousy, we indeed need leader like El-Rufai who would call a spade, a spade regardless of whose ox is gored.

No doubt, the deed has been done but, we expect the senate to do a damage control by reconvene with the primary objective of confirming El-Rufai as Federal Minister of Federal Republic of Nigeria before the president constitutes the new cabinet.

If this becomes impossible, I implore our leader, iconic, illustrious and Chairman of ECOWAS, President Bola Tinubu to overrule the senate and swear in former Kaduna State governor as Minister of Federal Republic.

One good turn deserves another. It’s indeed a payback period for Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.

Kola AMZAT (FCA, FCIB)

LAGOS BASED FINANCIAL CONSULTANT,

09077509348

Kola AMZAT (FCA, FCIB,  CTP, MBA)                                                                                                                  Lagos Based Financial Consultant

09077509348.