The Accidental Public Servant

by El-Rufai, Nasir

  but I suspect he knew deep down that the way I went about things was without any personal interest,

  and generally for the better, even when it was inconvenient for him. He discouraged me from

  resigning in late 2001 after the dust-up over the NITEL GSM contract, and he seemed to have more

  confidence in me. Even so, I did not expect to be part of a second Obasanjo term. I had started

  packing my bags to leave the BPE as my tenure was due to end in November of 2003. This was why I

  went to Harvard Business School in April 2002 to undertake the Advanced Management Programme.

  I was happy to meet three other Nigerians in the programme – Ado Wanka , a friend and classmate

  from my 1984 MBA graduating class, Funke Osibodu, a woman banker of repute, and Akin Osuntoki,

  an executive of Vigeo. I had no intention of staying in BPE for a second term of office, and I was

  certain that Obasanjo would not re-appoint me even if I wanted.

  Then one day, President Obasanjo called me up to see him in the residence.

  “You know,you are a useless man, you are a bad man, you insult people, you have no respect

  for my ministers and I do not like you,” he said. “But I am going to nominate you to be a

  minister.”

  “What?”

  “I want to nominate you to be a minister.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, ask me. I do not like you. You seem to have no respect for elders, you argue too much,

  you think you know everything, but there is a job I want done in my second term as president

  and I think you are the only one I know who can do it. I have struggled inside to find someone,

  but, much as I dislike you, I think you are the only one who can do it.”

  So I just laughed and said it was ok.

  “You won’t ask what the job is?”

  “No, Mr. President, you will tell me when you are ready.”

  “Ok. Well, I just wanted you to know, I am nominating you to be a minister.”

  Of course, I did not believe him, but then things happened in quick succession. We faced an interview

  panel of Obasanjo, Atiku and party chairman Audu Ogbeh. A few weeks later, the names of his

  proposed cabinet were read on the floor of the senate, for the screening and the confirmation process

  to begin. As was the custom, we were invited for finger-printing and documentation and the rest of the

  standard procedures for engaging ministerial nominees. I went back to the president.

  “Is this for real?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ok, I can now ask you, what is the job?”

  “I am sending you to FCT.”

  “Why? Because I am a quantity surveyor and the FCT is a huge construction site?”

  “Well, that is part of it, but that is not the reason why. Let me explain. You see, Murtala and I

  thought of a new capital that became Abuja because we realised that the seat of government had to

  leave Lagos because Lagos was not working. Lagos would never work unless something miraculous

  happens. So we decided to build a new city, a new capital in the middle of nowhere that will be

  planned from day one and will not be disorganized, and will not be chaotic. This new capital is going

  in the direction of Lagos right now. I have appointed two ministers and instructed them to try to

  restore order in this city and none of them has done it. I think you can and I think you will. That is

  what I want you to do. I want you to clean up this city and make it work. Do not let it slide toward the

  direction of Lagos. Can you do that?”

  “Of course I can. I am not sure I will succeed but I will certainly try.”

  “Good. Now, you know you will have to be cleared by the senate so try to speak to as many

  senators as possible so that they do not say you are arrogant, aloof and too proud to go and

  talk to them.”

  “Of course. Whom should I speak with, should I talk to my senator, Dr. Tafida?”

  “No, go and see Senator Mantu.”

  Senator Ibrahim Mantu was the deputy Senate President and was very close to Obasanjo. I did not

  realize this suggestion would begin a very interesting relationship with the upper chamber of the

  National Assembly that remains till today.

  Softening the Ground

  Everyone knew Senator Mantu. He was a skilled political operator and bridge builder. I knew him

  from a distance and met him regularly at official events. He was always friendly and full of

  compliments. After listening to one of my presentations on privatization, he walked up to me and said

  something to the effect that he thought I had the wisdom of Solomon without the age of Methuselah. I

  had his number, so I called him and requested to meet as suggested by Obasanjo. He was effusive in

  his congratulations and we agreed to meet at his house in Maitama District. When I arrived, Jonathan

  Zwingina was there. A one-time member of the Senate Committee on Power in my BPE days,

  Zwingina had by now been promoted to deputy Senate Majority Leader. Both men congratulated me

  for the nomination and said they heard I was going to head the Federal Capital Territory. I claimed

  ignorance because I did not want to admit to them just yet that the president already told me. I simply

  said I did not know where I was headed, only that I had been nominated to be a minister.

  They continued by complimenting me on my work at the BPE, and we all went through the standard

  pleasantries and discussed how much we all were looking forward to working together. We

  concluded with Mantu saying he and Zwingina would do some ‘ground work’ and talk to me in a

  couple of days. Mantu then called me some days later to see him, but on arrival at his office, he kept

  me waiting for four hours without attending to me. Then he stopped taking my calls. I reported back to

  Obasanjo who just shrugged and said he had done his bit by nominating me. At this point, someone

  suggested that I meet Senator Mantu’s influential and gentle wife, Zuwairatu, who quietly practises

  law in Abuja, but I refused. I was prepared to leave things as they were until a mutual friend came to

  the rescue. Senator Bala Adamu had served as chair of the Senate Services Committee between 1999

  and 2003 and therefore knew both Mantu and Zwingina quite well. He called Mantu and arranged to

  see him with me. Mantu could not refuse his colleague wishing to visit his home. So we got there on a

  pleasant Abuja afternoon.

  “Distinguished Senator, Mallam (referring to me) is my friend and he is a really good man,” Bala told

  Mantu.

  “I am sure he will make us proud as a group, community and as a country if he is given the

  opportunity to serve as minister.”

  He asked Mantu not only to facilitate my clearance but help guide me through the minefield of

  legislative intrigues, of which Mantu is known to be a master. Mantu nodded agreement, repeating his

  Methuselah line.

  Zwingina then walked in and after exchanging pleasantries, the duo asked Bala to excuse us so that

  we could speak alone. Bala left me at the Mantu residence.

  “Well, we promised that we would do a lot of groundwork,” Mantu began. “It seems that

  there is going to be a problem with your confirmation.”

  “Why is that?” I asked.

  “Well, in the BPE, you did not carry people in the Senate and House of Representatives

  along. You have insulted many legislators and made so many enemies. You were fighting

  everybody and selling companies in which our people were employed and our peopl
e were

  benefiting, so there will be some resistance from some of the senators,” was the response.

  “We have spoken to many of the senators and they are not going to do this (confirmation)

  unless they see a change of heart or see you as a potentially changed person.”

  I thought I knew what was coming, but still asked. “And in what way am I going to be a changed

  person in their eyes?”

  “You know, in your current job at the BPE you have been selfish, you sold all these

  companies to your friends, you took care of yourself, but you did not spread the goodies

  around. The feeling is that you made a lot of money as head of BPE but you did not share it.

  You and Atiku bought everything, cornered all the companies and you did not consider other

  interests in the legislature.”

  “Well, I think those who say that are wrong, because I have not made any money in BPE, and

  as far as I know, Atiku bought nothing from BPE.” I said.

  “In fact, to tell you the truth, my company (El-Rufai & Partners,) was paying me a regular

  supplemental to work in BPE. If anybody thinks I have made any money, please explain to

  them that they are wrong and – well where is the money? I have nothing, and there is nothing

  in BPE except long working hours and tons of reports.”

  “Well, even if what you say is the case, none of our colleagues will believe it so you will

  have to do something,” said Zwingina.

  “You will have to raise some money and give it to us so that we can give it to the more

  recalcitrant senators to soften the ground.”

  That was the phrase – ‘soften the ground.’ Mantu was quiet all through, but now more helpful, he

  jumped in.

  “You know, there are 109 senators. If you give us 54 million naira, we will have 1 million

  naira for each of 54 senators. On the urging of the president and the vice president, both

  Zwingina and I will vote for you, so you do not have to give us anything. With 56 senators out

  of 109, you are through. So we do not need to take care of everybody. There are those who do

  not like you, but for those that are indifferent or like you a little bit, by the time we give them

  a million naira each you will be fine, you will be home and dry.”

  I thought Mantu truly just wanted to help me through an environment he believed I do not understand.

  Perhaps in his eyes, he was looking out for my best interest and no more, and complying with

  Obasanjo's request to tutor me through screening.

  “Well, I do not have 54 million naira, I will not find it and even if I had it, I would not give it

  to anyone to be a cabinet minister,” I said. “For me, being minister is a great opportunity but a

  huge burden. I am the one sacrificing for my country. I did not ask Obasanjo to nominate me

  as minister; he did it because he said he wanted me to do a particular job.”

  “Yes, you are being sent to FCT. You know, FCT is a big job, you can make this money on

  just (selling) one plot of land.” Zwingina chimed in.

  “Well I am not going to FCT to do that kind of stuff. If I get posted to FCT, it will be to get

  serious work done, not selling land. So thank you very much, I appreciate your efforts, thank

  you for the feedback and the groundwork, but you know what – I am not doing this. But really,

  I appreciate your efforts.”

  And they were visibly shocked, that much I could see. “If there is nothing else, I would like to go.” I

  added.

  They resisted.

  “No, sit down, why are you being unreasonable? How can you say you can’t find such a small

  amount, you have friends, you know people, one of your friends can pay this,” one of them-- I

  don’t now remember who-- remarked.

  “I know but do not care; it is not about the amount of money, but about the principle of it.” I

  said. “I can ask a friend to pay, but I will not be able to live with myself. I just won’t do it. I

  cannot do what you want. I am sorry.”

  Mantu and Zwingina looked at each other, and then asked, “Ok how much can you get?” They thought

  it was a negotiation! I was livid, but did all I could to remain calm.

  “Nothing! Not a penny. I won’t do it.”

  They looked pensive. These were politicians, and to them everything was negotiable. They eventually

  relented and we shook hands and I left.

  I immediately called President Obasanjo, explained that I had just seen Mantu and Zwingina and there

  was a problem that I wanted to come talk to him about.

  “No, I am not handling this senators’ thing. I have done my part and nominated you. You

  should go and tell the vice-president about whatever has transpired. He will handle it.”

  I had the distinct impression that he suspected what may have happened but did not want to be a part

  of it.

  “I know Mantu, I know Zwingina,” he added. “They are funny people, do not let them upset

  you, just go and tell the vice-president everything.”

  The next day I met with the vice-president and told him what had happened. “I am grateful to you and

  the president for considering me worthy of being in the federal cabinet but if this is what it takes to be

  confirmed, then I am out of this game, I cannot do it,” I said.

  “Do not worry,” Atiku said. “Mantu is so greedy, he loves money so much that if you put

  1,000 naira in the mouth of a lion, he will try to take it even though he knows that the lion will

  probably eat him up in the process. But do not worry, we know how to deal with these

  people, we will have our way and still not give them a penny.”

  That was that. I left and went back home. I consulted with Senator Amah Iwuagwu, spoke with a

  couple of other friends of mine who knew some senators, and they told me to leave it to them and not

  see anyone else. Not too long after that incident, the vice-president asked me and Senator Zwingina to

  come by his house. Atiku first went into a closed-door meeting with Zwingina for a few minutes and

  then emerged to tell me simply that Zwingina and Mantu would henceforth leave me alone. Nobody

  would ask me for any money, so I should go prepare for the nomination hearing because my name was

  not going to be withdrawn. That was the last I heard of it. On the 8th of July, 2003, Ngozi Okonjo-

  Iweala, Nenadi Usman and I went for the confirmation hearing. The senators asked me several

  questions and my screening process lasted for about 45 minutes. Senator Jibril Aminu asked the most

  insightful questions and was helpful and supportive in his comments. Most other nominees spent less

  than 10 minutes. At the end of it, I left the chambers and was confirmed, sworn in on the 16th of July,

  2003 and reported for duty at the Ministry of FCT on 17th July 2003. I had handed over BPE's affairs

  to Tijjani Abdullahi since June 16, 2003 when the cabinet nomination became official.

  One day, barely a fortnight after I assumed duty at the FCT, a friend of mine, a senior manager of a

  leading bank who had served in one of our many privatization council committees, and was close to

  Atiku, came to visit and wish me well in my new assignment. In the course of conversation, he

  dropped a bomb:

  “Did Atiku tell you what he did with Mantu and Zwingina?”

  “On what account?” I asked.

  “In connection with their request for money before you were cleared as minister.”

  “No, he just told me not to worry about it.”
>
  He laughed. “I think he paid them off.”

  He then went on to explain how Zwingina went to my friend’s bank and collected 50 million naira

  from one of the accounts operated on behalf of the ruling party and controlled by the vice-president.

  “Fifty or fifty-four?”

  “Fifty.”

  This absolutely incensed me. They were paid! I thought to myself about what to do and decided I was

  going to expose it at the time of my choosing. I made up my mind to go public with the request made

  of me, and that I refused to pay it. Before I did, I ran the idea by Obasanjo.

  “Mr. President, I am sorry to raise this again, but do you remember that meeting I had with Zwingina

  and Mantu and you told me to report it to the VP? I just found that he paid them.”

  He was surprised and asked how I knew. I related the story to him and he said, “Yes I see. Your

  source is well-known as a senior manager in Atiku’s bank. So what are you going to do now?”

  “If you permit, I will expose it. In my next media interview I will mention it and draw all of

  them out.”

  He was quiet for a moment and then agreed. I did not know it then, but by that point, Obasanjo and

  Atiku had had a falling out of sorts, so Obasanjo would encourage anything that would complicate

  Atiku’s political life. As far as I was concerned, I had to make sure nobody thought I was part of the

  cash exchange. I was very angry because I felt if Atiku was going to do that, he should have told me