Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has taken a swipe at ex-Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, accusing him of undermining democratic values and promoting political thuggery during his time in office.
Sani’s comments follow the recent disruption of the inauguration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition’s transition committee in Kaduna, allegedly by hired thugs — an incident that has fueled a blame game between El-Rufai and the state government.
Speaking on the matter, Sani dismissed El-Rufai’s democratic credentials, insisting that the former governor never played any role in Nigeria’s long struggle for democracy.
“For people like Nasir, when they find themselves in office, they don’t know what democracy is about because they never fought for it,” Sani declared.
“He was an unknown figure before 1999, joined the PDP, and rose through the system without ever facing the sacrifices true activists endured. He was never jailed, never in a prison cell, and never wore handcuffs.”
The outspoken ex-lawmaker further accused El-Rufai of entrenching political violence in Kaduna, describing his leadership as intolerant and autocratic.
“El-Rufai’s years in power fostered a culture of political thuggery, arrogance, and suppression of dissent. That is not democracy,” Sani said.
