Kaduna: Praying for El-Rufai’s triumph

The first one was the Benue South Senatorial District election which pitched outgoing governor Gabriel Suswam against elder statesman, Senator Barnabas Gemade. I prayed earnestly and hoped that Governor Suswam should not just be defeated; he should be thoroughly trounced to teach him a lesson about arrogance, impudence and general bad manners. As a properly […]

The first one was the Benue South Senatorial District election which pitched outgoing governor Gabriel Suswam against elder statesman, Senator Barnabas Gemade. I prayed earnestly and hoped that Governor Suswam should not just be defeated; he should be thoroughly trounced to teach him a lesson about arrogance, impudence and general bad manners. As a properly brought up African child who was trained to be humble and respectful of elders, I felt scandalized that Suswam dared to challenge Gemade and sought to possibly retire the man ‘prematurely’ from politics and thereafter gloat about his triumph.
I just could not understand why Suswam did not realize that a man like Gemade is a greater asset to the Tiv nation and the Nigerian federation than himself. When Chief Gemade became a national figure, Suswam was probably in primary or secondary school and when the man was busy working with others to form the PDP, Suswam was probably an unemployed graduate or at best a charge- and- bail lawyer trying to eke out a living for himself on the streets of Lagos. For this same young man to therefore scheme Gemade out of the PDP platform he had helped to build, and whose national chairman he once was; and on top of that, sought to replace him as senator because of the ephemeral position of governor he was occupying was, to me, the height of malice, bad manners, mischief and misuse of privilege combined.
What Suswam actually did was like a brash young man (in this case one young enough to be Gemade’s son) asking an old man who is sitting on a chair to get up and give it up to him! That is an abomination. Such a young man deserves to be taught a lesson that democracy and respect for elders are not mutually exclusive and possibly retired from politics as may be the case for Suswam now. Thank God, my prayer number one was answered.
The second contest and the cause of my prayer number two is the one coming up the day after tomorrow in Kaduna, in which former FCT minister Malam Nasir El-Rufai is seeking to dethrone incumbent Governor Ramalan Yero. I have nothing personal against the man now on the throne in Kaduna. But I just happen to believe that based on his experience, his ability and character, especially his can-do spirit, Malam Nasir El-Rufai is better qualified to govern the complex Kaduna state than Yero. Like I did in the case of the Benue South Senatorial District, I am praying and hoping that the Good Lord will hear my prayer and those of millions of other Nigerians and pave the way for El-Rufai to win on Saturday. Since God carries out his purpose on earth through human beings, my appeal is that the good people of Kaduna should elect El-Rufai because from what we have seen of him in Abuja and other positions he has held, he will make a very good governor and bring the qualitative change Kaduna direly needs.
The problem with me is that I am openly biased in favour of persons who, in public office, demonstrate a can-do spirit. I am so because I have come to believe that one of the reasons why our development has been so slow is because we often put in high offices men and women who do not have the ability or the passion or the character to get things done. Because of their personal weaknesses, such persons turn around to join the people they are supposed to lead in murmuring, grumbling and complaining. As the late Taju Abdulraheem would put it, they endlessly agonise about the situation that needs correction instead of trying to organise and galvanise the people to get things done. As FCT minister, El-Rufai showed he was different which is why at the end of the day, he made such a monumental difference.
Since he proved his mettle with the FCT job, I have always seen him as a presidential material. But since he has elected to run for governor of Kaduna which I consider some sort of demotion, I nevertheless feel he deserves to be given the chance to once again prove that his performance in Abuja was by no means a fluke. He requires that platform to further hone his leadership skills in order to, in future, challenge for national leadership. Many of our well known problems do not require any more analysis. We need men and women of demonstrable talent like El-Rufai to provide solutions to them and show others the way.
My bias in favour of el-Rufai is by no means limited to him. There used to be three Nigerians (they are now four with the recent inclusion of President Goodluck Jonathan) who, when they appear on TV or are mentioned in news bulletin on the radio, I immediately call for God’s blessing upon them. In no particular order, they are former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nasir El-Rufai and Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola. With what President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan did about two weeks ago (graciously conceding defeat to General Muhammed Buhari thus sparing this nation unnecessary violence and bloodshed) I have added him to that private prayer/blessing list. Whenever they come to my remembrance, I call upon God to forgive them the mistakes and sins they have committed against God and man and that God should bless them for some of the public virtues they have displayed in the service of this great nation.
I am aware that these Nigerians are not saints but we do not necessarily need saints to be able to move this nation forward. All we need are persons of courage, intelligence, determination to succeed and leave a legacy and the good sense to do what is right as demanded by the situation confronting us. If many in our public service have these virtues we would have made faster progress. El-Rufai has the heart of a lion and the head of a genius to restore Kaduna to its former glory as well as give the nation hope that we have within us some people who can help move this country forward. The people of Kaduna will be doing themselves and the nation great good if they rise up and crown him governor on Saturday.