Former Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said he bears no resentment towards former colleagues, friends and associates following their silence over his current travails.
El-Rufai, in a statement titled ‘My Relationships and the Aftermath,’ said the silence of some people he had supported or maintained close relationships with over the years had generated concerns among those around him.
He, however, said he would not judge anyone for choosing to distance themselves or remain silent in the face of his present circumstances.
According to him, his decision to stand by people and causes he believed in had always been guided by his Islamic faith, Arewa upbringing, personal values and conscience.
‘Over the years, I have stood by people and for causes I believed in, sometimes in difficult circumstances and at considerable personal cost,’ he said.
The former governor said his actions were never driven by expectations of praise, gratitude or reciprocity, but by his conviction that he was doing what was right.
He added that those he had supported in the past were also entitled to make their own choices when circumstances changed.
El-Rufai said while some of them might choose to speak in his support, others could remain silent or distance themselves from relationships they previously shared.
‘Their reasons are their own, and I do not wish to judge them merely because their response differs from what others or even I might have expected,’ he said.
Reflecting on the experience, the former governor said difficult circumstances often revealed the nature of relationships, noting that the events of the past few months might lead him to reconsider some of his associations.
‘Adversity has a way of illuminating relationships,’ he said.
He added that the experience could make him ‘quietly and without regret’ reassess certain relationships and consider the expectations placed on people who look up to him.
El-Rufai, however, stressed that such reassessment should not be construed as condemnation or reproach.
He maintained that he had no regrets about standing by people or causes whenever he believed it was the right thing to do.
‘I bear no resentment towards anyone who chooses not to do the same for me,’ he said.
The former governor said he would rather remain faithful to the principles that had guided his conduct than allow the actions of others to alter those principles.
On what he described as perceived injustice, ingratitude or injury against him, El-Rufai said he was not seeking revenge or retribution.
‘Ultimate accountability belongs to Almighty Allah, and I leave that judgment to Him, in this world and in the Hereafter,’ he said.
He added that everyone would eventually have to live with the choices they made, while posterity would form its own judgment.
‘My only concern is to remain at peace with my conscience and, above all, with Almighty Allah,’ he said.
El-Rufai has reportedly spent 220 days in detention.