The Public Relations Officer,
Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, 19 northern states and Abuja Rev. Joseph
Hayab, has observed that Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has no
moral right to call anybody a bigot.
Hayab explained that since
el-Rufai became the governor of the state, his insulting and denigrating
comments had polarised the state.
Making his view known in a
statement in Kaduna, he said, “Happenings in our dear Kaduna State for over
three years now, especially some recent statements by the governor, have
compelled me to speak as a citizen and a stakeholder who believes in the unity
and diversity of Nigeria.
“It seems that Governor el-Rufai
takes pleasure in making bad and inciting comments about others but unable to
bear or reason that his leadership style is worse than that of those he is
quick to accuse.
“When some Christian leaders
years back complained about how he (el-Rufai), made mockery of Jesus on his
Twitter handle, it seemed then that they deliberately accused him of such a
recklessness for political reasons, but little did we realise that such inflammatory
comments were el-Rufai’s trademark.
“Since el-Rufai became the
governor of Kaduna State, many of his utterances have been either to insult or
denigrate some individuals or group of people.”
He noted that el-Rufai’s recent
tweet accusing Mr. Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and
vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being a
tribal bigot “clearly shows that the governor needs to go and look at himself
in the mirror”.
He said although he was not from
the South-east Nigeria, but a visit to Anambra State and meeting people on the
streets of Awka and Onitsha showed that Obi as governor of Anambra State, led
with an exemplary leadership style of tolerance and promoted peaceful
coexistence “unlike el-Rufai who has polarised Kaduna State with divisive
actions and inciting utterances”.
Hayab further explained, “My dear
Governor el-Rufai, you cannot go to the social media every now and then making
divisive statements about the population of our dear state, only to come back
to accuse other Nigerians of being bigot.
“For you to have the moral right
to accuse others as bigots, you need to check and reexamine yourself in the
mirror to ascertain if you are not worse off.
“It is public knowledge how you
have threatened Shiites, SOKAPU (Southern Kaduna Peoples Union) and even the
Nigerian Army aside from those who hold different political views.
“Does el-Rufai assume that the
silence of many indigenes of Kaduna State and other well meaning Nigerians on
his actions is a sign of weakness or are people ignorant of the high level of
polarisation that his leadership style has brought to Kaduna State?
“My investigation shows that when
Mr. Peter Obi was Governor of Anambra State, he worked peaceably with three
Commissioners of Police from the North of Nigeria including Alhaji Amusa Bello,
Gwary Usman and CP Leha.
“In comparison to Mr Obi, please,
el-Rufai should tell Nigerians how many heads of security agencies in Kaduna
State during his tenure were/are from the other parts of the country?
“From el-Rufai’s utterances and
actions, one becomes sceptical if anyone from another part of Nigeria other
than the core north could work as Commissioner of Police or Head of DSS in
Kaduna without the governor asking the authorities in Abuja to transfer such
with immediate effect.
“My dear Governor, please stop
your divisive and distractive statements and actions and look inward to remove
the speck from your eyes before attempting to help remove the splinter in
others.
“el-Rufai has not lived in
Anambra, but is accusing someone from Anambra of his stewardship.
“Can el-Rufai be truthful to
himself and to us in Kaduna State by admitting that he is not Nigeria’s chief
bigot?
“Peter Obi’s people say that he
is one of those exemplary governors who left his state financially better off
than he met it. Besides, he left Anambra peaceful and united.
“Can we from Kaduna State rate
el-Rufai in the same way? Without the fear of contradiction, a record of Kaduna
State people are of the view that Governor el-Rufai should focus more on his
duties as a leader of the state and stop busy bodying and poke-nosing into
affairs that have little or no link to the administration of our state.
“We demand that Governor el-Rufai
should concentrate on making Kaduna State peaceful and prosperous by delivering
fair, unbiased and equitable leadership, rather than being at war with almost
everyone who holds a differing view from his.
“The undeniable truth is that the
governor’s actions and utterances about people and situations both in the state
and elsewhere have further impaired the peace we once enjoyed in Kaduna.
“My candid advice to the governor
is that he should stop pointing leprous fingers at others and instead, take a
hard look at the mirror as his utterances, poor political equations and
decisions have heightened suspicion and distrust, a development that is
condemnable and unfortunate.”
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