By Israel Bulus, Kaduna
Southern Kaduna and Middle Belt groups on Tuesday descended on former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, accusing him of using “reckless hate speech” against the people of Southern Kaduna and thriving on vendetta politics during his eight-year rule.
The Southern Kaduna Awake Group and the Middle Belt Forum, Kaduna chapter, were reacting to El-Rufai’s appearance on Channels Television’s One-on-One with Seun, where he described Southern Kaduna people as violent, entitled, and less than 25 per cent of the state’s population.
Addressing a press conference in Kaduna, the National Youth Leader for the Middle Belt Youth Forum, Comrade Nasiru Jagaba, alleged that El-Rufai’s bitterness stemmed from the rejection of his ministerial nomination by the Senate last year, following petitions from Southern Kaduna.
“His years in office will be remembered for mass sackings of civil servants, expansion of grazing reserves at the expense of indigenous landowners, and failure to protect communities from relentless attacks,” Jagaba stated.
They also faulted El-Rufai’s comparison of Southern Kaduna to the Shiite Islamic Movement led by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, saying it was a “reckless attempt to criminalise an entire population.”
The groups maintained that contrary to El-Rufai’s claims, President Bola Tinubu’s administration had sited major projects in Southern Kaduna, including the University of Applied Sciences and a Federal Medical Centre.
Echoing the same view, publisher of Gurara Accord, Bomba Dauda, said El-Rufai had lost political relevance and was “using Southern Kaduna as a scapegoat to remain in the spotlight.”
“His administration thrived on division and undemocratic practices. He suppresses one side to gain relevance in another using religion, but that tactic no longer resonates with today’s reality,” Dauda said.
He urged Nigerians to hold El-Rufai accountable for “dangerous narratives capable of pitching communities against one another.”
