It is an open secret that President Muhammadu Buhari has just a few favourites amongst the 36 governors from the 36 states of the federal republic of Nigeria. To get into the president’s book of favourites, we hear, you must be of impeccable character. You must possess an unblemished record as a governor and as an individual. You must have proven yourself over time as a man of undeniable integrity. Most importantly, you must not be one of those under investigation by the EFCC. And Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna State, fits perfectly into this bill.
It is public knowledge that El-Rufai is very close to the President. This close relationship with Buhari enables him to have some measure of influence on Mr. President. He is, without a doubt, one of those with unhindered access to the president. Indeed, he is one of the most regular state governors at the Presidential Villa. Sources within the Villa say that the governor doesn’t book his visits in advance. Protocols are simply waived for him. And it must be said that Mr. President likes him a great deal too. In fact, he does not joke with El-Rufai. This is because El-Rufai is one of those close to the president who have shown uncommon loyalty to him, and the president knows this too. Nasir El-Rufai is an ally of President Buhari. The small statured man is not only a party loyalist but also a fierce defender of his principal the President and his policies. He is forever quick to defend President Buhari and his policies. A couple of years ago, before the 2019 Presidential elections, the threatened foreign journalists with deaths in body bags, should they report anything negative and un-investigated on the election. While many see this man as arrogant and cocky, others see him as an epitome forthrightness, honesty and loyalty, and these are exactly what Mr. President saw and loves about him. On account of his closeness to the President, El-Rufai has been very influential in some of the major appointments made by the present administration. Prominent among the appointments that the governor had his input was Buhari’s appointment of Prof. Umaru Danbatta as the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission. It is widely believed that one of the reasons Mr. President has a soft spot for El-Rufai is because of his remarkable intelligence and proven integrity. Integrity has always been Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s middle name. Right from his days as minister of the federal capital territory, Abuja, a position he held from 2003 to 2004, El-Rufai proved to everyone that he is a no-nonsense individual who is not ready to compromise his integrity and reputation for financial gains. He has zero tolerance for corruption. This is why a lot of politicians and public office holders fear him. You cannot go to El-Rufai for under table deals. You cannot dare bring to his table any shady arrangement that will leave his state, or even the federal government, short changed. He will blow the whistle on you and set the appropriate agencies after you if you are stupid enough to dare such nonsense.
In the same vein, you cannot speak ill of President Buhari while Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is within ear shot. He will take you on squarely and give you a thousand and one reasons why he believes the president is the best thing to happen to Nigeria at this time. With Rufai, what you see is what you get. If he is for you, then he stands by you forever, through the good and bad times. He is a man who also speaks truth to power. He does not like to play games or politics with national matters. He says it as it is.This is why, weeks ago, he came out publicly to say he agrees with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential flag bearer of the APC, that there are some elements in Aso villa that want the party to lose the forthcoming presidential elections.
The President appreciates this about him. Indeed, Mr. President and everyone within the government knows that, with El-Rufai, there no double standards. No deceit. No backstabbing. What he will say behind your back, he will first say in your presence. He will speak the truth no matter whose ox is gored. Some of the comments he has made regarding the current naira scarcity induced by the CBN, would’ve been found offensive by the President. But President Buhari clearly knows and understands the type of person Governor El-Rufai is. He is fearless. He makes no pretences about his feelings. And he is always seeking the best for the country, one of the reasons why the President sees in him a dependable ally, one he can always count on to help him take Nigeria forward.
Ordinarily, both men shouldve fallen out by now, owing to governor El-Rufais strong insistence that there are elements within the villa who want the party and especially Asiwaju to lose the coming election using the chaos caused by fuel and naira scarcity so that their own preferred choice, a northerner obviously, will take over from President Buhari. He was also seen in a video that has gone viral urging a group of northerners not to despair over the naira scarcity, urging them that the policy would be reversed once Asiwaju becomes president. And typical of the Kaduna State Governor, he has gone on to declare that he is not afraid to fight for what he believes is right, just and fair. The APC had an agreement, an understanding, that power will go back to the South, particularly the South-West, after the expiration of Buhari’s dministration. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai believes it will be totally unjust for President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, to finish his term and another northerner takes over. That was not the agreement. He believes anything short of the agreed arrangement will make the northern people look like a group of betrayers, a people that cannot and should not be trusted when it comes to national matters. He was wary of a situation where people from other regions of the country will no longer be comfortable sitting with the north unless with a long spoon. It is believed in some quarters that ony a personality like Governor El-Rufai can make public such strong sentiments and not get into the president’s bad books. He is the only one who can do this and get away with it.
Governor El-Rufai is generally seen as a fearless personality. Straight forward. Brutally frank. Unapologetically honest. These are all sterling attributes a former military general like president Buhari will appreciate in anyone. For instance, El-Rufai believes these elements in the villa keep hiding behind the president and often bully their way through by saying, ‘the president said this, or the president said that…’. But for him, using the line, ‘the president said,’ cannot work because they know he can walk straight to the president’s office and ask him to confirm if he said what they claimed he said or not. And for this, the cabal detests him. They loathe him. But they also know he is untouchable because President Buhari respects him a great deal. President Buhari respects his intelligence, he respects his views on national issues and respects the fact that he has so far proven to be a man of integrity with his an anti-corruption stance. For these, he will always have the ears of the president. It also means he will always be well positioned to take on those he considers enemies and detractors who desire nothing but to see that the APC loses the coming presidential elections.
For President Buhari, regardless of the position Governor El-Rufai may be taking on issues of national prominence, he knows he will always be fair and just. And he will always be on the side of the truth. And for that, he will always have the respect of President Muhammadu Buhari.
-WALE LAWAL
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