El-Rufai: a nationalist or a hypocrite?
There is no gainsaying in the fact that the immediate former Minister of
the FCT, Nasir el- Rufai had stepped on so many toes; - some big, some
small; a few justifiably and mostly unjustifiably. He had while in
office shown some kind of exuberance while discharging his
responsibilities.
Well, el Rufai can be excused on the basis of this. But unfortunately
for el Rufai, his conduct as Minister had gone beyond exuberance. He had
used his office to launch attacks on the interests and persons of the
perceived enemies of the then despotic President of the country,
Obasanjo. El Rufai was in a way on a rampage of all plots, houses, and
other business premises of the opposition.
If the revelations of the General Manager of the Abuja Geographic
Information Services, AGIS-the data base of the FCT Ministry on plots
and houses, Ismaila Iro at the Senate committee investigating the
conduct of the FCT in the eight years of the Obasanjio regime is
anything to go by, then el Rufai’s claim of being a saint, a
transparent, upright, decent, honest and incorruptible person are mere
lies and deceit. Iro had told the committee that less than 24 hours to
the May 29, 2007 handover date, el Rufai among other devilish actions
allocated 15 and 18 choosy plots in various locations within the Abuja
City to his master, Obasanjo and to himself respectively.
The most intriguing and upsetting action of el Rufai during his tenure
as FCT Minister is the fact that he revokes plots of other Nigerians on
the excuse that they were on sewage or other utility lines but
reallocates them to himself, relations, wives, children, friends or
cronies. What then can you say about such actions of a person who claims
to be the most morally upright person in the country? Isn’t that
hypocrisy? One can remember vividly when el Rufai called the then
Nigeria’s Vice President names short of calling him a thief. He said
that Nigeria will never be ruled by a thief. Apparently, he was
referring to Atiku. But one is now compelled to ask who among Obasanjo,
Atiku, el Rufai is a really thief who was caught hands down?
The defence put up by el Rufai’s aide, Balarabe Lawal on the said plots
and his general maladministration of the FCT Ministry, to the effect
that ‘he did not do anything unconstitutional, he followed due process
and also acted within the confines of law and order are not only
shallow, hypocritical but also moral bankruptcy and breach of the trust
reposed in him by the country.
I must say I am bewildered by the words of el Rufai’s baseless and
arrogant defence that ‘if el Rufai had wanted he would have used his
office to grab more plots. He isn’t greedy’. This is merely a reflection
of how contemptuous and disrespectful el Rufai was and still is to the
sensibilities and persons of Nigerians.
The consolation to Nigerians today is that the Senate probe has exposed
el Rufai for what he had all along being- morally bankrupt, self
centred, greedy, hypocritical, arrogant and vindictive. Like one
Emmanuel Yawe, a commentator on national issues and veteran journalist
said in his piece in the New Nigerian newspaper of April 22, 2008 titled
the wise Minister and Senate’, said “for el Rufai who played a role in
the lynching of Atiku on grounds of corruption will end his public
career in the cesspool of corruption”. This is not only catastrophic but
also shameful and a big disgrace to the family of el Rufai and the Zaria
people of Kaduna state. It is also a slight to the prestigious quantity
survey profession to which he belongs.
El Rufai’s hands as Director General of BPE and as Minister of FCT are
soiled in professional misconduct in a number of places like the sales/
concession of the Hotel le Meridian, International conference Centre,
Abuja international Airport, Garki hospital, Eagle Square and former
Vice President Atiku’s guest houses. Others were the steel rolling
mills, especially Ajaokuta steel, NITEL, ALSCON, National stadium and
National arts theatre among several other public financed enterprises
that were heavily undervalued for his master and friends to buy over at
a give away.
It is not an exaggeration to say that it was a jamboree of reckless
spending of public funds wrapped in a series of unwholesome practices by
the fake reformer at BPE and FCT.. What will be the reaction of el Rufai
to committing N215million of government funds to the Garki hospital’s
upgrading and refurbishment of facilities and thereafter dole it out on
concession to his friend at N20million?What of an expenses of
N181million used in demolition exercise and another N22million in
clearing the debris of demolished structures in the FCT? Can he justify
this drain and misapplication of public funds?
It is my prayer that Nigeria’s professional body of Quantity surveyors
will find time and reconsider his membership. He has not behaved, acted
and conducted himself as a true ambassador of the profession. He has
dragged its name in the mud and so he deserves a reciprocal treatment in
return. He must be seriously sanctioned. Anything short of this will
perpetually put the profession and its practitioners in bad light.
It is unfortunate that the leader of the reformers in government is now
exposed in scandals of the year. The bottom line of the matter is that
el Rufai’s fake reformist, transparent, patriotic, selfless and honest
services to the country have been exposed.
I therefore advise the committee to recommend a judicial trial of el
Rufai with a view to confiscating all his assets and jailing him so as
to serve as a deterrent to others.
BARRISTER RAFINDADI MOHAMMED
(rafindadimohd@yahoo.com)
20 DAURA STREET
KATSINA