Ubiquitous Nasir El-Rufai (II)

The unstoppable dare, gift of rare courage, eloquence, industry and enterprise that are undeniable features of vintage El-Rufai have been graphically captured in this book on Nuhu Ribadu ( I hope I am not yet reviewing the Adebanwi’s book on Ribadu?) as elsewhere, including the comments by his (El-Rufai’s) new political boss, General Muhammadu Buhari, […]

The unstoppable dare, gift of rare courage, eloquence, industry and enterprise that are undeniable features of vintage El-Rufai have been graphically captured in this book on Nuhu Ribadu ( I hope I am not yet reviewing the Adebanwi’s book on Ribadu?) as elsewhere, including the comments by his (El-Rufai’s) new political boss, General Muhammadu Buhari, who said that El-Rufai could have ordered the demolition of his house if he had not acted promptly when he did.
Now, what are the instructive lessons to be taken from this provocatively controversial book, beyond the established positive elements of ubiquitous El-Rufai, and the less edifying idiosyncrasy of the man—his eloquence laced with scandalous garrulity and loquacity (anyway what is the difference beyond differing emphasis?); his capacity to offer comments in a manner that betrays the accidental nature( how inspired self couching) of his service as a public servant—wanton and reckless offer of confidentialities, irresistible self-aggrandisement at the expense of the name, value and character of just anybody in power whom he has related with, opportune by and benefitted from in uncommon and favoured ways.  But there is also a startling audacity to pinpoint the character of political power wielding that has characterized governance in Nigeria, especially under the PDP democratic polity since Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Atiku Abubakar, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the current  President Goodluck Jonathan. We may need to elaborate, stingily, on each of these.
Olusegun Obasanjo— we  gain insight from El-Rufai’s book instruction on power vendetta, disproportionate allocation of power to favoured ones, especially El-Rufai (may be to others not subject of discourse here—Oby Ezekwesili, Nuhu Ribadu, Okonjo-Iweala, later vociferous Fani Kayode—members of his bedroom cabinet). Who else in Nigeria has both the propensity and insensitive flair to reveal the way in which power was bequeathed to him by OBJ in excess of his official portfolio—powers disproportionately  disbursed to the outrageous level of making  El-Rufai perceive himself as a de facto Vice-President, and the inadvertent relegation of the de jure vice-President, Atiku Abubakar? Motive(lessness)?; that is contrary to his own personal, what he said is the perception of his colleagues in the OBJ cabinet—that he was being groomed to succeed OBJ. However, probably to his utmost chagrin, the President had no such intention, nor known character history (plain-ness.) to prepare anybody with such ingenuity, intellect and inordinate ambition, obviously demonstrated in the power- dispensed propensity/notoriety/ famousness of El-Rufai, especially as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory  for succession into the most powerful dais of power in Africa.
Nasiru El-Rufai is never a motiveless personage in the nation’s political firmament, let’s face it, from the hindsight of knowledge and experience. And let nobody be under any illusion that one is insinuating that El-Rufai is exceptional in motive/motif drive and, well, if you like , opportunistic perception f those who default, wilfully or otherwise I  the execution of is ‘time-table of power ascendancy. It is a major vernacular vocabulary of power search, subtly or covertly in this country or elsewhere, where the corruptibility of power is voicelessly loud. The underlining motivation of El-Rufai, in this instance, is his disappointment that the ‘use-and-dump-‘cavalier character of OBJ would not let him groom El-Rufai, hence El-Rufai’s the bean-spilling, with prodigal carefree-ness. What does this say about the character of El-Rufai himself? And who says anything about motives?
What is the intended motive in El-Rufai’s disclosure on the ascendancy to power of the present governing structure in Nigeria? —the first and only source of this information to date—that OBJ, conscient of the leadership incompetence of Goodluck Jonathan, had mapped out plans to produce a Buhari-Okonjo-Iweala ticket? Mum, still, is the word from this ‘couple.’ Greater mum comes from Chief Obasanjo himself. What is the expected reaction from Goodluck Jonathan whom we have all known and seen as OBJ’s groomed prodigy inflicted on the leadership of the giant nation/party of Africa?
On Umaru Musa Yar’Adua—what is the fresh motive of such characterization of one who suffered from a sense of insecurity, lack of self-confidence and incompetence—a character-fickleness which  made him distance himself from valuable and skilled man-power. Here are    brilliant minds whom Musa Yar’Adua  was considered and feared that, being of superior intellect, would disagree with him. That, once he discovered that their outspokenness, intelligence and fierce independence of mind threatened posed a challenge, he would terminate their association with him. All these were done just to establish El-Rufai’s non-acceptance of any position of responsibility from Yar’Adua, albeit not to damage their age-old cordial association. ’ Knowing Umaru better overtime and longer than most people that worked with him as President, I was convinced that working with him will damage our cordial relationship’’ El-Rufai projected Yar’Adua’s adjudged irrationality on his feeling of insecurity—a factor, also of his failure in power as President; his inability to stand disagreement from his cabinet Ministers and associates, which made Yar’Adua  deny them access to power, hence the failure of his government after the first 100 days. What motivates this posthumous character-depiction of Yar’Adua? This was meant to o explain away his non-inclusion in the President’s cabinet and non-appointment into any position during the aegis of Yar’Adua. I am yet to read anywhere that El-Rufai was offered an appointment by Yar’ Adua, not to mention his turning down such as appointment as he boastfully claimed in his memoir.
What, if we may ask, Is responsible for this mindless bean-spinning by man who we must regard as exceptionally intelligent, politically favoured, intellectually endowed individual to go out of his way to offer these obviously in discretionary expose on top-ranking Nigerians, especially those who have benefitted him tremendously while the going was good and while it was their privilege to offer—and they offered it to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai? It certainly cannot be motiveless malignment of character for its own sake. As we have insinuated above, anybody who favoured him with power and privilege but who did not carry it conclusively to its logical end, vide help him to ultimate power must end up as a product of mindless vilification. The only gain in this respect is for the nation, who are exposed, most incredulously to the rabid display of power for self-actualization.