Before diving into the record of Nasir El-Rufai’s reign over Kaduna State, pause for a moment and consider these words from some of Nigeria’s prominent voices who publicly supported him:
@markessien said, “The reason I like @elrufai is that he would be uncompromising in pushing through reforms. I don’t believe in the meaningless compromise…”
@Omojuwa proclaimed, “You are a good Nigerian. I will support you publicly as you support what is good always. You will win! - @elrufai.”
@Omojuwa again: “Shout out to @elrufai. You could easily walk into this govt and keep quiet. You chose the narrow path.”
@IyinAboyeji complimented El-Rufai in ways that ignited debate: “Same people who called Iyin Aboyeji unprintable names for his compliment towards Mallam El-Rufai 2 yrs ago…”
Nasir El-Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State (2015–2023), has recently emerged from his shadowy tenure, parading around the media like some misunderstood genius whose “reforms” were meant for the nation’s good. But let’s get real: while he spins his revisionist fairy tales, Southern Kaduna remains battered, bruised, and betrayed by a regime defined not by progress but by repression, ethnic cleansing, and a blatant arrogance toward dissent.
Let’s dissect the truth behind the propaganda.
In 2020, the Nigeria Union of Journalists branded Kaduna the worst place for media work in Nigeria. That’s your legacy, El-Rufai. You went from press darling to its most vicious persecutor. Luka Binniyat, Anthony Jacobson, Audi Maikori, men dragged from states across the country and thrown behind bars as if democracy had been outlawed. And don’t forget John Danfulani, a lecturer jailed for a mere Facebook post in 2016. Freedom of expression under El-Rufai? Only if you’re willing to sing his praises, or else.
El-Rufai’s infamous 2017 “reform” committee wasn’t about efficiency but ethnic engineering. Twenty-five chiefdoms were renamed, districts gutted from 390 to 77, and traditional rulers demeaned and shoved aside, like incompetents at a toxic workplace. Communities such as Adara, Atyap, Jaba, and Kagoro saw their identities stripped away. Former commissioner Timothy B. Gandu confirmed this was no grassroots initiative but a deliberate state plan to promote Fulani dominance cloaked in the lie of “efficiency.” This isn’t governance; it’s cultural colonization.
Remember how chiefdoms like Kauru, Kagarko, Kajuru, and Lere, once Christian strongholds were converted into emirates? No consultation, no consent. Just an illegal decree to impose foreign Islamic titles on communities who never asked for them. Cultural respect under El-Rufai? A joke.
When Agom Adara Dr. Raphael Maiwada Galadima was abducted and murdered in 2018 for resisting land grabs by Fulani herders, what did El-Rufai do? Arrested eight protesting Adara elders and held them for almost a year. They sued and won, but where’s the justice in delayed court victories when lives were shattered?
El-Rufai brazenly admitted to bribing Fulani terrorists with state funds to “stop killings”, yet violence only escalated. Southern Kaduna’s people accused him of abetting genocide. His peace “strategy” was pay-offs to murderers taking Nigerian taxpayers’ money. Who in their right mind thinks this is acceptable?
Look at the Kachia Grazing Reserve: it ballooned from 33,400 to 77,000 hectares without any community consent. This was territorial takeover disguised as “development,” shifting boundaries from Ikulu Chiefdom to Adara territory and increasing Hausa-Fulani settlements like an ethnic Monopoly game. Over 10,000 Fulani herders and 40,000 cattle now occupy these lands. Indigenous voices? Silenced.
El-Rufai also destroyed lives via economic warfare:
He fired 21,780 teachers in a sham competency test.
Laid off 4,000 local government workers, mostly from Southern Kaduna.
Gut 2,357 newly hired teachers, many still waiting for pay six years later. Even the National President of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, Audu Amba, was sacked for daring to object. Over 34,000 workers tossed aside without severance or pensions, reform? More like slow economic genocide.
When 46 people were massacred in Kagoro in 2022, El-Rufai didn’t visit, didn’t offer condolences, didn’t even issue a statement. He ghosted his people in their darkest hour. If leadership means showing up, El-Rufai mastered the disappearing act.
He ignored multiple warnings from Southern Kaduna leaders about impending attacks. SOKAPU’s 2020 report called him negligent. This isn’t poetry; it’s a tragedy written in fire and blood.
Remember Gonin Gora’s demolition in 2018? The Christian community was leveled for the alleged actions of a few, while Hausa-Fulani areas like Kawo faced no repercussions. Selective justice? No, outright ethnic favoritism.
In May 2023, despite a court injunction, El-Rufai bulldozed homes in Gbagyi Villa, sparking protests, injuries, and a woman’s death. Rule of law? Rule by brute force.
He outright lied that Southern Kaduna constitutes only 20% of Kaduna’s population, ignoring the 2006 census evidence of 51%, a brazen demographic gaslight.
Churches like KASU Chapel and Graceland Zaria? Bulldozed. Congregations left homeless. Religious freedom? Conditional under El-Rufai’s rule.
His 2017 hate speech law, supposedly to curb extremism, was a weapon to silence Southern Kaduna voices selectively. Praise El-Rufai or be silenced.
And inclusion? Only 5% of government jobs went to Southern Kaduna natives, with qualified locals passed over for loyalists and settlers. Meritocracy my foot.
On Channels TV, he accused Southern Kaduna elders of taking $20,000 bribes, without a shred of proof. Journalists didn’t challenge him. His aim? To sow division and destroy reputations like some political arsonist.
Lives lost or broken under his watch tell their own stories:
Auta Maisamari, detained and died mysteriously.
Imam Danleeman Isah, murdered after criticizing him.
Abubakar Idris (Dadiyata), disappeared, mocked online by El-Rufai’s own son.
Haruna Kuye, killed after warning against El-Rufai’s failures.
Kurama monarch Ishaku Damina, detained till death.
So, to those like @IyinAboyeji, @MarkEssien, @Omojuwa, and all the sycophants who cheered him on, what exactly did you think you were championing? A leadership style that incarcerates journalists? That’s the “excellence” you aspire to? Does this sound like the leadership you so blindly exalt? Is this the “change” Nigerians deserve?
El-Rufai’s glossy media interviews are smoke and mirrors. His legacy screams authoritarianism, ethnic division, oppression, and selective cruelty.
And while he polishes his halo on national TV, the people of Southern Kaduna remember the real story of homes reduced to rubble, voices crushed, and unanswered graves.
This is the leadership we must confront, reject, and never allow to rise again.