Fresh criticism has been directed at former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai by the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, who accused the former governor of deepening divisions and insecurity in the state.
Musa made the allegations on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television, claiming that El-Rufai’s administration created divisions that restricted movement between northern and southern Kaduna.
“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the state into two. In that, if you are from the south, you cannot go to the north to live. Those ones from the north were moving to the south,” Musa said.
The minister, however, credited current Governor Uba Sani with efforts to restore unity and freedom of movement across the state.
“I mean, you can’t imagine that in the country. The country that is supposed to be one. But Governor Uba Sani, within one year, has been able to dissolve all that,” he said.
“You see now, everybody is free. Everybody has a say. It’s not 100 percent, let me tell you; it’s not 100 percent. But you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state.”
Musa also alleged that residents of southern Kaduna remained aggrieved over El-Rufai’s handling of insecurity and killings during his tenure.
“If you look at his videos, his speeches, he was very proud of what he did. He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this; he did that. He didn’t hide it”, he alleged.
“He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did.”
Despite his criticism, Musa said he did not consider El-Rufai an enemy, describing him instead as “misguided”.
The minister said the scale of killings recorded in southern Kaduna under the former governor could not be compared with the current situation.
Musa said his criticism was not motivated by his Kaduna origin but by his concern as a Nigerian.
He further accused El-Rufai of using his office to demolish residents’ properties over personal disagreements.
“I can tell you people what he has done to people living in Kaduna State from his own area. He had just personal [issues] with friends. The next thing, he sends a bulldozer to bulldoze your house down. He’s done it. It’s there on the TV”, he alleged.
“It’s not anything I’m concocting. People just go to YouTube and check what he has done. I mean, you will see a lot of it.
“He did a lot of things that I’m sure even he too is not proud of. Sitting down to look at it, I think he’s not proud of. And nobody should really, really be able to do that.”
The defence minister called for political leaders committed to promoting national unity rather than exploiting Nigeria’s ethnic and religious differences for political gains.
