El Rufai’s last hurrah

In the 70s, Tony Wilson sang  about politicians and  in that ballad, he highlighted  their  antics in ‘I Like Your Style’.  Politicians, according to him, are men of many words and in other words, they say much but deliver little. At worst,     they  renege on their  promises with reckless abandon.  However, not all politicians are the same and clearly, Malam Nasir El Rufai  is  of a different cut. Largely,  he  walks   his talk and oftentimes,  he  shoots from the hips, firing from all cylinders, taking no prisoners as he does.

In Nigeria, this  exception is a  double edged sword and for El Rufai, it has been cutting  both ways, either as Minister  or Governor of Kaduna state.  Indeed, the political class, entrenched interest groups and the upper crust of society,  see him  as a defiant  outlier. Conversely,  ordinary people, development partners and the civil society,  applaud his consistency, achievements and  derring-do.

Significantly, his solid achievements, belling the cat at critical times and taking on difficult assignments,  are   well documented in his public service career. For example,  remodelling the Federal Capital Territory, reengineering governance  and the  Kaduna Urban Renewal Project,  stand out in recent times.  In fact, in the run up to the presidential primaries, the 2023 election and the emergence of President Bola Tinubu, his altruism came out in  bolder  relief. Indeed, El Rufai’s principled position, insisting on the right thing and patriotic intervention, date  back  earlier, when the polls were three  years away. At this point, let me share a privileged insight.

In 2020, the Kaduna State Government, in early January, organised a retreat for political appointees, where Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants converged at Kaduna Business School. The team, for two  days, listened to experts and  bureaucrats, who walked us  through the  nuances  of public service, its code of conduct and defined boundaries.

Besides, the appointees bonded and exchanged banters, amidst lectures, tea breaks and group tasks. El Rufai, on the last day, graced the event and shared his diverse experiences,  fielded questions from the team, ranging from  family life, professional career and governance.

Specifically, Malam Nasir El Rufai was asked, amongst other questions, whether or not he would  contest for the presidency in 2023. Point blank, the governor answered in the negative and his argument, without equivocation, hinged on justice, equity and fairness. The north, by the year  2023, would have held power for eight years at a stretch and its leaders, in the interest of national unity, should ensure power shift to the south.

The north, he argued further, is known for keeping its word and in any case, power rotation is one of APC’s building blocks.  Indeed,  follow up questions were asked but El Rufai stuck to his guns, rooting for national cohesion, peaceful coexistence and the paramountcy of respecting covenants in politics. The retreat, in the manner of Chatham House, was a platform for frank and honest discourse, so El Rufai  wasn’t  playing  to the gallery.

However, in spite of his position, individuals and  groups started mounting pressure on El Rufai to run for the presidency. Predictably, he kept a deafening silence and continued  serving the people of Kaduna state that voted  him. Undeterred,  one Nassiriya Organisation, a northern-based group,  instituted a suit in October 2020,  to compel  him to  contest the 2023 presidential election. In fact, its national leader, one  Garkuwa Babuga, said that Nassiriya has members in 21 states and overwhelmingly, they had endorsed  El Rufai   based on “his track records of achievements.”   Unyielding, El Rufai kept  a stiff upper lip over the call, insisting on power shift to the south.

Regardless, a lot of permutation started making the rounds, from the probable to the ridiculous, aimed at muddying  up the waters.

At once, the idea of an El Rufai-Amaechi ticket, El Rufai and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo running together, and El Rufai and Dr Kayode Fayemi, the Ekiti state governor gunning for presidency, were all on the cards. In fact, the Aso Rock cabal and its allies, in desperation, reached out  Dr Goodluck Jonathan, the former president and a PDP stalwart to boot, to recontest on APC ticket. Besides, they pencilled down CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele for the presidential ticket but the whim  didn’t fly.

In June, on the eve of the convention, the cabal conscripted  Alhaji Ahmed Lawan, the then senate president, for the presidential primaries in 2022. In fact,  Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, the then APC National Chairman, was  the  enforcer-in-chief of the project. Hurriedly, he  convened a National Working Committee meeting and unveiled Lawan as the anointed candidate.

Earlier, the Northern Governors’ Forum, at El Rufai’s prompting, had met and insisted on power shift to the south. Indeed, foisting  Lawan on them, as Adamu attempted, presented a fait accompli and they were at a crossroads. More so, the APC helmsman claimed that President Buhari, on a one-on-one meeting, had endorsed Lawan’s choice.

Again, El Rufai came to the rescue, by leading the calvary charge against the cabal. In particular, the northern governors met Buhari, notified him of  their resolution on power shift and asked for his position on Ahmed Lawan’s anointed candidacy. Categorically, the then president washed his hands off the phantom anointment and by so doing, cleared the doubt of APC faithful.

Thereafter, El Rufai rallied support for Tinubu, ditching friendship and other political alliances as a result. Afterwards, Tinubu won the primaries on first ballot and by a wide margin.

Significantly, El Rufai campaigned vigorously for Asiwaju, engaged focal groups and the media, to sell Tinubu to the electorate. In the end, the APC presidential candidate won the election and thereafter, Tinubu sent emissaries to El Rufai, to firm up his commitment to work with him.

Specifically, the president-elect promised El Rufai, in no uncertain terms, the new Ministry of Energy. Thereafter,  El Rufai mobilised his team  and produced a blueprint that  wowed Tinubu, about three weeks to his ministerial nomination.

Afterwards, the comedy of errors began, first by a security chief who, in a hurry to nail El Rufai, breached official communications protocol. First, he wrongly  sent a letter  to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, instead of the Senate President. Second, the letter was signed by a Director of State Security Service and not the president.

Third, the issues raised were rehashed political  altercations  and selective interpretations. Besides, the ban on El Rufai from holding public office, a recommendation of a House Committee, has been quashed by the court. The senate, on mere allegations, refused to confirm El Rufai as minister.

However, when El Rufai met with  Tinubu, the usually forthright and straight talking president, according to reports, pleaded for time to deal with the matter.

Tinubu, at that point, started being evasive like  the politician that Tony Wilson sang about. El Rufai, on his part,  has turned his back on the ministerial nomination, gone back to school, to learn, unlearn and relearn, to someday serve  the  public in another realm.

*Ibraheem was El Rufai’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity

The Star