30-3-2025.

Not long after the beginning of the Ramadan, there began a protest (a storm of sorts) against the self serving and corrupt regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by some of the big names in the politics of the country. The protests was started and led by Malam Nasir El-Rufa’i, the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State. And from all indications, it was leading towards joining the Nigerian Social Democratic Party (SDP).

By this write up, I am not by any means implying that I am a supporter of the godlessness that the ruling (ruining may be a better description of what is happening at all the government levels in Nigeria under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regime) party, the All Progressives Congress (APC)  is currently engaged in. Far from it. Neither am I a fan of El-Rufa’i’s either.

I am simply not in support of the current regrouping of some popular politicians, championed by  El-Rufa’i, Kaduna State’s former governor, the same state where his hand picked successor and protégé, Uba Sani, has now become his trenchant enemy.

The politicians said to be in the regrouping, include, Alhaji Nasir El-Rufa’I, former Vice President and Serial Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Waziri Atiku Abubakar, former Governor of Anambra State, and serial Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP),Mr. Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, former Governor of Osun State and also former Minister of Internal Affairs, Alhaji Ra’uf Aregbesola and (former Governor of oil rich Rivers State and also former Minister of Transportation) Rotimi Ameachi.

Also mentioned are former APC National Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, Senator Danjuma Goje (a former minister and former governor), Rabiu Musa kwakawso (a former Minister and former Governor as well as current chieftain of the NNPP), Major Hamza Al-mustapha ( former ADC to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha), Senator Abdulaziz Yari (a former governor), Malam Ibrahim Shekarau (a former governor), Sheikh Isa Ali Pantami (a former Minister), Prof Usman Yusuf, Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Senator Aminu waziri Tambuwal (former Speaker of the House of Representatives as well as former governor), Mustapha Sule Lamido (son of former Minister as well as former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido), Lado Danmarke (a serial gubernatorial candidate), Barrister Shehu Shema (a former governor), Senator Abdul Ningi, Senator Ali Madu Sharrif (a former governor) and Senator Aliyu Wammako (a former governor).

Others are Senator Adamu Aleiro (a former governor), Senator Shu'aibu Lau, Abubakar Malamin SAN (a former Minister), Pastor Tunde Bakare (a one time running mate to Muhammadu Buhari), Adamu Maina Waziri (a serial gubernatorial candidate) and Sim Fubura (Rivers Governor), among the many others alleged to have moved, or are contemplating, a move to the SDP.

That the number is counting and still loading, maybe because the ruling party has not ‘invited’ them to the dining table to share in devouring the National cake. Some of them may even be unhappy because they are not the ones in the driving seat to invite others for the sharing of the National cake.

Though very intelligent, El-Rufa’i should know that a smile does not mean ‘love’. Some people supposedly close to a person may, within the innermost recess of their heart, be diehard opponents, or even enemies, waiting for a change to show their true selves. Reading between the lines is no rocket science for very intelligent people like the former Kaduna state governor, who is a Quantity Surveyor of note, and many other things.

Some adversities may turn out to be blessings in disguise. One should always be suspicious of those very close, or those who ‘cry more ’ when calamity of any sort strikes those in positions that offers them some undue advantages. This usually exposes the real and the fake people, regardless of their supposed closeness to us. I should know, because I have been a VICTIM of TWO such people over the years. These are people who I thought I could entrust my life to, not knowing that they were indeed after my life, in a manner of speaking, over the years.

Which might be why someone said that the people you assume are yours, might not truly be for you. In moments of need, you will see who genuinely stands by you. Some people may do well to be sure of whom they call their family, their friends, and their neighbours, because some of them may not truly be what they claim to be.

The knowledge of the complete treachery I am sharing with the readers came to me only during the Holy month of Ramadan from three (3) unimpeachable sources. The bottom line is that, unknown to me, my two arch traducers knew one another and had formed an evil bond against me for a very long time. They always took delight in deceiving and taking some money out of me, despite the COMPLETE trust that I had in them.

The two of them have two things in common. Both have an inordinate love for money for different reasons. One of them loves money in order to have a bragging right among his friends, to whom he likes to boasts that he “never run out of money”. The other loves to accumulate money, without spending or ‘helping’ anyone with it. The other thing they have in common, is to perpetually CHEAT and DECEIVE me, and any other trusting souls, who believe them (to their detriment) to be the real things.

One of them is noted for always sticking to those with lots of money, as he pretends to them that he genuinely loves and cares for them, whereas his only love and care are for himself. That person even asked me to forgive him ALL the offences he had committed against me, and the ones that he is GOING to commit against me in FUTURE. He knew what he was talking about, because it had been his plan to ensure that I had sold all saleable things that I possessed. 

He almost succeeded, until I said a clear ‘no’ to his last subtle ‘suggestion’. He was a daring INSIDIOUS acquaintance, who believes that he could get away with ‘murder’ Scots free, since he had obtained my forgiveness in advance. But if we can only judge people on what they did, or guess what they plan to do through their body language, God Is all the time aware of their intentions even before they carry it out. I will therefore invoke the ALMIGHTY GOD to claim what BELONGS to me from wherever it may be, or in the possession of whoever it may be.

Only God is ever forgiving, as He loves to forgive offences committed against Him in the past, in the present, and in the future, as long as the forgiveness is sincerely sought for, and as long as it is not in anyway connected to associating Him with anyone or anything. He will also NEVER forgive offences committed knowingly (arrogantly), in the vain feeling that they were already forgiven by the victim in advance. Both of us are, in any case, alive to justify the veracity or otherwise of this claim of mine.

There are also some very insidious Non Governmental Organisations (NGO’s), whose campaign is not in support of the millions of impoverished citizens in the country, but in celebration of the so called ‘achievements’ of the oppressors of the citizens. Since such NGOs find nothing to do but sing praises of the oppressors, they are themselves part of the problem in the country.

By the way, the El-Rufa’i group is made up in the main of people who became stupendously wealthy on account of being ex-this or ex-that. They were stark poor or very broke, according to the confession of some of them, before occupying the offices that ‘made’ them wealthy. Some even claimed not to have the money to buy the forms to enable them contest elections, but were ‘assisted’ by relatives and close friends. But after their time in office at the federal or state level, they became dollar multi millionaires or even multi billionaires. 

They became stupendously wealthy with the  support, and in some cases, even participation of their compromised clerics, belonging to both religions. The clerics, found in both states, travel to places in convoys good enough for favoured ministers, in huge state-of-the-art vehicles, that only those in positions of high power, or the very rich business moguls, drive.

El-Rufa’i claimed that “we knew about the president’s Chicago degree”, and still went out of his way to vigorously campaign for him for the presidency. It was the belief that not only was Tinubu not a possessor of a Chicago University degree, he was also many other things unsavoury to be associated with the president of an independent country. 

Anyway, the falling apart came after the emergence of Tinubu as President of the country, and the failure of El-Rufa’i to clinch either the office of the Chief of Staff to the president, or a ministerial appointment. It has nothing to do with the interest of the citizens, but everything to do with self interest. The same El-Rufa’i had distanced himself from being a running mate to Tinubu, praying that may “God forbid for me to become the running mate of a drug pusher”. 

His fellow older, but equally brilliant, townsman had also switched allegiance from a one time President of the country to a former President of the Nigerian Senate, when he failed to secure appointment as the Chief of Staff to the former number one citizen. Driven by the desire to become ‘important’ in the country, for reasons known to him and perhaps a few others, he decided to become the Chief of Staff to the number three man of the time.

Most of those who have regrouped are the part of the same problem (thieving group). Many of them were the people who used to call the shots in the nation, but not the messiahs the country is in desperate need of, now or ever.

For those who believe in the saying that the ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend, and the friend of my enemy is my enemy’, they may do well to remember that in politics, not unlike in foreign policy, it is always about permanent interests, not about permanent enemies. And in the Nigeria of TODAY, politics is rarely about NATIONAL INTEREST, but about the self interest of the political actors, whatever political party they may belong to.

Gatherings for weddings, naming ceremonies, chieftaincy titles awards, and such like, expose the political elites as being together, regardless of their religious belief and the political party they claim to belong. They flock together at public events such as the Kano wedding at the palace of an emir between the son of a highly wealthy businessman and the daughter of a leading politician, and the Abuja (Villa) wedding of the children of the a ranking lawmaker in the country.

In any case, Nigeria does not necessarily need first class brains or pretenders to be president, governors or members of the federal or state assemblies. The country is unfortunately saddled with them at the moment, but nothing appears to work in the land but obscene CORRUPTION, starting from the Top tier. All the country NEEDS are people who will be guided, and be able to rule, with the absolute fear of God in their hearts, not with the greed and fear of living in poverty in the present world. In other words, the country needs to start on a clean slate, not the recycling of the same old self serving politicians, whose last thought are the ordinary citizens of the country.

The country (Nigeria) NEEDS people like Professor Isa Ali Fantami, Professor Yusuf Usman, Senator Ali Ndume, Alhaji Ahmad Isah (the Ordinary President), Barrister Bukarti Bulama, Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed, Dr. Gololo, popular youthful Dr. Dan Bello PhD, apolitical like Malam Ahmed Filin Samji, etc, as the NEXT leaders at all the levels, not the self serving lots we have now. It is for us to ensure that in future we do not send those whose only wish for power is to dip their hands into the public funds with impunity all the time.

Some may point out that only Northerners were cited by me as those that could be good leaders, to such people I want to say I can only cite those I know, or those I am very familiar with. Besides, the North may, in the long run, go its own way alone, if those who are against the region, like President Tinubu, would have their way.

May God guide the Nigerian voters not to repeat the mistake they made in 2023 in the 2027 general elections. It appears that most of those ‘voted’ into various offices only came to enrich themselves from the Commonwealth, not to serve the Commonwealth, as is done in saner climes. May He also continue to expose those who hide their ill intentions to us, so as to mislead us into  believing that they mean well. 

Malumfashi wrote from Katsina.