Ambassador Designate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Germany, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has provided a fresh insight into the circumstances surrounding the abortion of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s appointment as a minister after his initial nomination by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023.
The former Minister of Aviation said contrary to popular opinion, El-Rufai’s nomination “was not rejected as a consequence of the implementation of some far-fetched and illusionary conspiracy supposedly woven against him by the National Security Advisor, the Governor of Kaduna State, the Vice President and the President”.
Rather, he said, petitions from the Shia Muslims, the Tijaniya Muslims and the Christians of Kaduna “whose rights were violated, whose women and children were killed and who were viciously and violently persecuted under his watch as governor” were presented to the DSS when he was nominated by President Tinubu as minister
“These petitions were so alarming that they could not be ignored, and that is why his nomination as minister was rejected by the Senate,” Fani-Kayode said.
He dismissed as baseless and absurd the narrative of victimization being pushed by El-Rufai and his supporters, saying only the naive and the gullible would believe such a fairy tale.
“If President Tinubu did not want him to be a minister, he would not have been nominated in the first place,” he said
El-Rufai, who is undergoing multiple trials over alleged money laundering, diversion of public funds and wire-tapping the National Security Adviser, is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)
But Fani-Kayode attributed his travails to the nemesis resulting from the ill treatments he meted out to people both as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Kaduna State governor.
In a two page article in The Nation (see pages 9 & 10), the former Minister of Culture recalled the numerous atrocities El-Rufai allegedly committed against defenceless citizens, including children and internally displaced persons while he held sway as governor.
He accused El-Rufai of “knocking down” a large number of orphanages and rendered many orphans homeless.
Outside that, he said, El-Rufai demolished 2,000 homes and buildings in Abuja and 12,000 shanties on its outskirts, in which the poor had taken refuge, often against court orders and without compensation.
He said: “I also forgot to mention the fact that he knocked down many orphanages in Kaduna when he was Governor and that one of the last things he did whilst in office, which he ruthlessly, chillingly and cold-bloodedly carried out the day before handing over power to Governor Uba Sani, was knock down an orphanage at Fadama Badan Dodo in Zaria.
“The worst aspect of this dastardly act was the fact that it took place at 1.00am in the morning and without a court order!
Details of other demolition activities that he ordered in the days leading up to his exit as Governor on May 29, 2023 were as follows.
Gbagyi Villa Demolition: Roughly 72 hours before leaving office, the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA) demolished numerous houses in the Gbagyi Villa community in Kaduna.
Residents claimed that these demolitions occurred despite existing court orders for him not to proceed and that many of the affected buildings were legitimate residences.
Shi’ite Buildings: On Monday, May 22, 2023—about a week before leaving office—KASUPDA demolished several structures belonging to the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), including schools, a hospital and private residences in various areas, including Kawo, Rigasa and Tudun Wada.
Prior to these actions, El-Rufai had vowed to continue “demolishing structures” until his “last day in office”.
While specific reports from May 2023 focused on the destruction of houses, schools and a hospital in Gbagyi Villa and Shi’ite-affiliated areas, some reports have mentioned that the affected sites included structures and orphanages where children resided, leading to allegations of destroying homes and communities.
The demolitions were described by critics and affected residents as “vindictive”.
In my view the word “bestial” would have been far more appropriate than “vindictive”. I say this because it is only a human being that can be vindictive and it is only a beast that can be bestial.
Nasir El Rufai was not just being vindictive here but was also being downright bestial.
Even the homes and habitats of orphans were not spared from demolition and destruction!
Like the troublers of the world that take pleasure in bombing and slaughtering women and children without regret or remorse, his bowels of compassion ran dry, he lost his sense of decency and humanity, he forswore the milk of human kindness and he offered no mercy to the women, the children, the elderly or the poor.
His pleasure was to break their hearts, shatter their dreams and aspirations and bring tears to their eyes, pain to their spirits and sorrow to their souls.
His joy was to deprive them of not just where they had lived but also all that they had.
Such callousness is unspeakable. Yet, sadly, it does not stop there.
I also forgot to mention the fact that he ruthlessly persecuted the followers of the late Sheik Dahiru Bauchi in Kaduna, raided their homes, desecrated their properties and places of worship and committed the most despicable and hideous atrocities against them, which led the Sheik to express his displeasure against him by pronouncing a curse on him.
And others cursed him too. For example the women of Kafanchan in Southern Kaduna went on a march, stripped themselves naked and cursed him at a roundabout in broad daylight in the middle of the town as a consequence of his wickedness towards their community.
I doubt that any Governor in the history of our nation has attracted as many curses from his own people as Nasir El Rufai.
I also forgot to mention the fact that he banned state-sponsored pilgrimages for Muslims who were going to Mecca and Christians who were going to Jerusalem which was, in my view, bad enough.
What made it worse was the fact that he surreptitiously lifted the one on the Muslims and strictly enforced the one on the Christians.
In other words he adopted a selective approach.
Consequently the first time that the Christians of Kaduna state were permitted to go on state-sponsored pilgrimages in the last 11 years was when Governor Uba Sani formally lifted the ban in February 2026!
I also forgot to mention the fact that he banned night vigils for Christians when he was Governor of Kaduna and that he directed Pastors to submit the script of their sermons before they were allowed to preach.
I also forgot to mention the fact that thousands of petitions from the Shia Muslims, the Tijaniya Muslims and the Christians of Kaduna whose rights were violated, whose women and children were killed and who were viciously and violently persecuted under his watch as Governor were presented to the DSS when he was nominated as a Minister by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
These petitions were so alarming that they could not be ignored and that is why his nomination as Minister was rejected by the Senate.
Permit me to add that contrary to popular opinion his nomination was NOT rejected as a consequence of the implementation of some far-fetched and illusionary conspiracy supposedly woven against him by the National Security Advisor, the Governor of Kaduna state, the Vice President and the President which is the baseless and absurd narrative that he and his supporters are so fond of peddling to the public.
Only the naive and the gullible would believe such a fairy tale because if President Tinubu did not want him to be a Minister he would not have been nominated in the first place.
I also forgot to mention the fact that even though his successor in office, Governor Uba Sani, not only contributed millions of dollars of his own personal money to his legal fund between 2009 and 2014 when the EFCC prosecuted him but also stood by him through thick and thin, he repaid his good with evil by attempting to undermine and discredit his Government and destroy his future and career.
Permit me to add the following.
Before he left office he told Uba Sani that he must ensure that once his tenure as Governor begins, he (Sani) must “right all the wrongs” that he (El Rufai) had committed as Governor and that he had no intention of interfering in the affairs of the state once he was out.
He even said that he would hardly come to Kaduna and that if he did so he would not go anywhere near Government House. Sadly he lied.
He did not honor his word and neither did he take kindly to Sani righting his wrongs which proved to be legion.
His reaction to his successor in office’s efforts to right those wrongs was vicious, unrelenting and unrestrained and brought out his shape-shifting reptilian nature more than anything else
He turned on him with a vengeance and savagery that is rarely seen in politics anywhere in the world.
This was best reflected not just by his sheer pefidy and malicious and malevolent actions but also by his words when he told all those that cared to listen that his sole reason and purpose for returning to active politics was to ensure that he destroys the career, future and life of Uba Sani.
I also forgot to mention the fact that even though the Minister of Environment, Alhaji Balarabe Abbas Lawal, who was his Chief of Staff when he was Minister of FCT and the Secretary to the State Government of Kaduna state when he was Governor, sold his only house in Abuja and used the proceeds to help pay his lawyers when he was facing prosecution by the EFCC between 2009 and 2014, he repaid his commitment and dedication with evil by not only attempting to block his nomination as a Minister (after he himself had been rejected by the Senate) but also to destabilise and discredit the Government that he serves.
Permit me to add the fact that not only did Balarabe serve him in these two capacities over the years and not only were they colleagues at school during their childhood but also that the latter attended every single court sitting as a mark of solidarity when he (Nasir) was being prosecuted by the EFCC.
All that for his former boss and yet the latter did all he could to abort his nomination and stop him from becoming a Minister.
If there was ever a Cesar Borgia in Nigerian politics his name was Mallam Nasir El Rufai!
I also forgot to mention the fact that he sent men to abduct Mr. Jackson Ude, the publisher of Pointblank News, from his Abuja home and that when he managed escape their clutches he sent another group of men to the home of his close friend Mallam Jafaru Y. Sa’aad in Kaduna and locked him up for four gruelling months.
I also forgot to mention the fact that he displayed a high degree of toxicity, malevolence and egregious hatred for Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe state and that he attempted to humiliate and destroy him simply because he could not intimidate, manipulate, control or successfully threaten him when he was the Interim National Chairman of our great party and because he opened the door to many notable erstwhile opposition leaders to join us.
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