Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El Rufai thought he had put his successor under fire by alleging that Governor Uba Sani is paying ransom to bandits to keep the peace. The governor fired back through his aide, and asked the fellow who barked around as chief executive to prove his allegations.
He made the allegation recently on Channels Television where he often goes to weep in public. The commissioner for internal security and home affairs, Sule Shu’aibu was unsparing as he described the former governor’s contention as ‘reckless, baseless and deliberately misleading.’
Taking another swipe at El-Rufai, he said the APC defector was ‘weaponising a sensitive security issue for political grandstanding.’
Shu’aibu noted as Governor Sani had done several times, that the present chief executive has never authorised, negotiated, or paid any money to the hoodlums. ‘Not one naira. Not one kobo,’ the commissioner said.
Now, the shoe is on the other foot. Let him who charges, prove. He was even given a deadline: one week. This is an unfamiliar territory for El Rufai who has a knack for raising the stakes.
But he was not properly interrogated when he made that claim. A reporter ought to make a man answer for his own sins when he commits it in public. Was it not this same El Rufai who boasted that he was paying ransom, and that there was nothing wrong with it? So, why was he angry if, for the sake of argument, the present governor is paying ransom?
We must note that he paid ransom for nothing because he left the state in a state of violence like neighbouring Katsina State today. He did not understand his own contradiction when he spoke. Places like Birnin Gwari were no-go areas for regular folks. There were no markets or businesses there throughout his tenure as governor. The bandits were in charge of their areas just as he was in charge of the state house in Kaduna.
The governor has said he is not just using carrots but also sticks. Carrots in terms of providing platforms for engaging the idle like the 2.5 million citizens who now have bank accounts. To be idle is to do havoc.
In Southern Kaduna, the nation heard news as though a routine about kidnappings, house and village burnings, and killings. He declared states of emergency without security and the emergencies were invitation to fatal treats.
If he is alleging with evidence, let the world see it. Any man who wants to play hardball must have hard evidence. If he does not provide evidence, he would be seen as mere rabble rouser and bellyaching over the successes of his successor. It would be regarded then, not just as bellyaching, but also an act of envy. It is an open advertisement of his failure in eight years.
Not long ago, he was roundly defeated in local elections in which the governor said elections are not won on social media posts. He and his son are adept at superficial posts and meretricious claims, just as the one he is being challenged to provide proof.
Even the national security adviser Nuhu Ribadu has said no bandit was paid. If El Rufai paid ransom and it did not work, why would he expect that ransoms would be responsible for peace in Kaduna? We have seen that ransoms only bring respites and not enduring peace. Ransoms don’t pay forward. The people return for more ransoms. And to do that, they foment violence. We have not seen such rhythm of violence and peace in the state. Over to you, Malam. Where is your proof? Time is ticking.