By Mohammed Seidu
I will continue to write my expose until someone capable takes heed and takes steps to save our nation from another Macbeth in pious clothing.
When it comes to the game of power and treachery, Governor El-Rufai towers above his peers and those he met in the game, notwithstanding his diminutive stature. Since his advent into national prominence, when his now estranged mentor and benefactor, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, recommended him to head the Bureau of Public Enterprise, Governor El-Rufai’s capacity to betray and stab those in the path of his ambition to be Nigeria’s president has known no limit.
In the wee hours of Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency, El-Rufai teamed up with other hawks to destroy Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s run for the presidency, in the hope that the former president would anoint him to be president in 2007. He set up a secret panel with Dr. Oby Ezekwesili to bring down Atiku during Obasanjo's government. That panel indicted Alhaji Atiku. He conjured every trick in the book to nail Atiku – to ensure he could never become President. That way, the way will be clear for himself.
Though his plan to succeed Obasanjo failed, he carried on the struggle as Obasanjo anointed Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua. El-Rufai ensured that the latter’s government was painted in black light in the eyes of the public. He did this by planting damning and false stories in the media – his major media machinery being Saharareporters, the medium he adopted after his investments in 234Next went up in smoke with the demise of that medium. He even went as far as creating in the mind of Nigerians the impression that there was a cabal in the presidency of Yar’Adua – a fact that El-Rufai himself confirmed in his famous book, The Accidental Public Servant.
The next person to get a taste of El-Rufai’s treachery was his bosom friend, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who was the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Recall that El-Rufai and Ribadu were among the shining lights in the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo. The two were instrumental in some of the achievements recorded by the economic team of that administration. Sensing that Ribadu’s international and local appeal would endear him to the electorate in 2011, El-Rufai ensured that Ribadu’s campaign was deprived the support of northern emirs. Even Ribadu’s recent quest to be the governor of Adamawa wasn’t considered too minnow for El-Rufai’s treachery.
The recent travails of Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, is not unconnected with El-Rufai’s tinkering as well. A hint to that effect was betrayed by the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), who revealed that the federal government has lined up five witnesses that will testify against Saraki. Of course, the name Kaduna’s state governor is prominent on that list!
El-Rufai is expected to testify that he was the one that sold one of the assets that Saraki bought in Abuja, which the government alleged that he failed to include among the assets belonging to him. Jacobs also alleged that the Senate President made anticipatory assets declaration including two houses allegedly sold to him by the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. It’s been gathered that El-Rufai had allegedly provided the receipts and documents to the prosecutors, which indicated that Saraki purchased those buildings from him anticipatorily.
El-Rufai is indeed a power-hungry fellow who is bent on grabbing power by any means and he has a long history of backstabbing. In his eyes, no one else is better than him to rule Nigeria. Consider the list of people who used to be friends with him but have now fallen out of favour. El-Rufai only has a chubby relationship with Dr. Oby Ezekwesili now because he largely used her for the much-publicised Bring Back Our Girls campaign to put the knell on Jonathan’s administration. Having done her bit, he wants her for a ministerial position. As widely publicised he has fallen out with Prof. Charles Soludo too
. El-Rufai has also been fighting Okonjo-Iweala for a long time for failing to do his bidding. This he does by sponsoring hate stories about her and wrongly debriefing President Buhari about the woman. The recent rants of Governor Oshiomole who is throwing wild allegations by the minute is El Rufai’s trademark strategy. Remember they are both in the panel set up by President Buhari to investigate some of the financial dealings of the last administration.
Sources claim El-Rufai had vowed to friends that because Ngozi served under Goodluck Jonathan, and helped Jonathan to stay in power for four years, thus depriving him the opportunity to get into power early, he will do everything to destroy her. The more reason he has been sponsoring attacks against the former minister.
It is also worthy of note that El-Rufai has a track record of power abuse. Once power gets into his hands, he misuses it. Consider the numerous damages he did as FCT minister and what he is presently doing in Kaduna. If federal power should get into his hands, Nigerians are finished. The abuse of power will be enormous and far-reaching.
Sensing that Senator Sheu Sani who is reputed for fighting for the masses may overshadow him in Kaduna, he has set machinery in progress to destroy the Senator’s political base. Or do you think the man’s recent travail is an happenstance?
El-Rufai’s war machinery has shifted to Tinubu of recent. The publicised brouhaha between the president and Bola Tinubu is reminiscent of the cabal card that El Rufai sold the whole Nigeria and international community during the winding down stage of the Yar'Adua presidency, his Saharareporters propaganda arm being the main proponent of pushing that to the world. Recent media filters have it that a few weeks ago, Governor El-Rufai (who, by the way, is now the de facto Vice President of Nigeria on account of his numerous inputs into the Buhari’s government) insulted Prof. Osibajo after disagreeing with him in a meeting presided over by the President. It was reported that Prof. Osinbajo reacted by denouncing El Rufai and promptly walking out of the meeting, leaving President Buhari still presiding over the same meeting.
El-Rufai is uneasy with Osinbajo whom he considers “Tinubu’s boy”. The story of the feud between the VP and El-Rufai is being desperately covered up in the Villa. But, it is only a matter of time before their disagreement is blown open.
El-Rufai’s treacherous acts are legendary: Atiku got a taste of it. Yar'Adua was bruised, his bosom friends in the Obasanjo’s kitchen cabinet, Nuhu Ribadu and Okonjo Iweala, are facing the music; Saraki and Sheu Sanni are under fire. Not even the blameless Prof. Oshibajo, who was instrumental to the acceptance of President Buhari in the South, is immune to his attacks. Guess who is next…
Mohammed Seidu writes from Abuja where he now resides and works.
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