The Accidental Public Servant

by El-Rufai, Nasir

One of the earliest signs of the misplaced spending priorities and profligacy that would define the

  Jonathan administration appeared when it budgeted some N50 billion to celebrate our fiftieth

  independence anniversary. In the course of several days of celebrations, Leadership newspaper had

  an event of lectures at the Abuja Sheraton to which I was invited by the publisher, Sam Nda Isaiah.

  Among those invited to deliver keynotes and speeches were former presidents Muhammadu Buhari,

  Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar. Jonathan’s NSA General Aliyu Gusau, who had then

  quit the job to contest the presidency, was also invited. Buhari was absent, but the others along with

  many political leaders including Governors Ikedi Ohakim and Babangida Aliyu filled the Ladi Kwali

  Hall. I declined the invitation to join them or sit in the front row because I planned to leave before the

  completion of the programme.

  Imo State governor Ikedi Ohakim gave a long, boring and unapologetic speech in defense of his

  decision a week earlier, to lock out of the Concorde Hotel, Owerri, personalities like former Vice

  President Ekwueme and prevent them from holding a meeting that would have resulted in a statement

  inimical to Jonathan’s emerging presidential aspirations. This gross violation of the rights of these

  south-east political leaders to associate and express themselves was further repeated when security

  men and the police prevented them from meeting in another privately-owned hotel in Owerri!

  Ohakim’s conduct was not only culturally disrespectful, democratically intolerant but outrightly

  illegal and unconstitutional. He stood there justifying his act of impunity citing ‘security

  considerations’ as if the ever-peaceful and professional Ekwueme would be associated with anything

  violent, a threat to security or against the public interest! I was seething, and waiting for an

  opportunity to tear apart his nonsense. More speeches followed, and then it was the turn of former

  president Babangida (IBB), then, a PDP presidential aspirant, to speak.

  The Babangida I knew was very intelligent, smart on his feet and an articulate speaker, an orator

  even. Whether in his smart military uniform in Dodan Barracks or some years later in traditional

  ‘baban riga’ in his Minna living room, he captivated his audience with his charm, words and

  gestures. Though he thought of me and Nuhu as two sides of a bad penny, I have great respect for his

  intellect, self-confidence and great charm. I have always liked IBB the person, even though I thought

  in the end he had let himself and many of his admirers down, as president. [172] On that day, the

  speaker was not the IBB I thought I knew and had come to admire. His speech was nothing near what

  he dished out as president. It was then it hit me – what remained in my mind was the IBB of the 1990s

  and here we are 20 years later and I am assuming it has to be the same person, shining intellect,

  articulation and delivery! It became clear to me that he was simply past his prime. I became downcast

  and simply walked out of the hall to go home.

  I was ambushed on my way out of the Sheraton Hotel by AIT and the Sun newspaper. They asked me

  questions about our independence anniversary celebrations and the aspiration of IBB to Nigeria’s

  presidency. I expressed the view that Nigeria had something to celebrate even though we could have

  done much better. On IBB’s presidential aspiration, I observed that both IBB and GMB were

  presidents some 25 years ago, when I had just started a family. Now with my grown children and with

  me having attained the age of 50, they still wished to lead the country again. I suggested that both

  should retire and support other candidates. I observed that more than 60% of Nigeria’s population

  was below the age of 40, with a new generation of young people connected via new communication

  and social media tools. I concluded with an attempt at humour that many people of their age thought

  BlackBerry is a fruit! Those that saw the interview clip on AIT mostly had a laugh about it, but the

  Sun’s headline the next day was provocative, insulting even – “El-Rufai to IBB, Buhari – You Are

  Expired!” or something to that effect. [173] The IBB media team just chose to ignore the headline,

  knowing the sensational orientation of the tabloid, and released a statement that I served an older

  man, Obasanjo, as president. The Buhari media team was angry and launched a vicious attack, not on

  my views – they were largely factual – but on my person and reputation. Daniel Aghanya, the protem

  National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, issued a statement insulting me, accusing me of non-

  performance when administering the FCT, with corruption and abuse of office as my trademarks. My

  political group and media people were incensed. We met to decide on a response and though I thought

  we should just ignore the attack and let it ride, my group overruled me on two grounds. Buhari had

  earlier granted an interview to TheNews magazine while Nuhu and I were on exile, containing

  statements that were unkind and uncomplimentary, and perhaps even accusatory on our persons.

  Some members of my group had even then suggested taking legal action, but on consulting Dr.

  Mahmud Tukur and Abba Kyari – both people I respect and who remain very close to both Buhari, I

  quashed the idea as misguided. With this fresh assault, the group felt that our media team must

  respond, because GMB’s media people seemed to relish destroying the reputation of others without

  regard to facts or the truth. Muyiwa Adekeye was accordingly tasked to issue a similar response

  which was widely published in the media. [174] This statement has been quoted by the Jonathan team

  repeatedly to establish my position about Buhari as if I could not change my views based on new

  facts, information or emerging circumstances. When circumstances led to Buhari and I having to work

  together, we discussed these instances of misunderstanding, appreciated that what we had in common

  was bigger than these incidents, and moved on in the interest of our country and have never looked

  back. Our team members had to come to terms with the decision of the principals – Buhari and my

  humble self – as if the incidents never happened.

  My statement and the sensational slant given to it by the Sun newspaper led to the suspension of

  negotiations between CPC and 3G, on behalf of SNG. The visibly angry CPC team, which was

  ironically led by one-time 3G leader Aminu Masari, decided that my personal views, however

  sensationalised and 3G’s must be one and the same, and discontinued further contact. Pastor Bakare

  saved the situation by suggesting that CPC and another development NGO he was part of – the

  International Centre for Reconstruction and Development (ICRD) – replaced 3G and the discussions

  continued.

  The next few weeks were periods of intense political activities with lots of back and forth between

  the CPC, ACN, Labour Party and Kowa Party, to agree on some form of electoral cooperation. In the

  end, a cocktail of unhealthy personal ambitions, unrealistic optimism and misplaced confidence in the

  biometric voters’ register to deliver credible elections, made it impossible to forge a common front

  against the PDP. By the end of October 2010, I was convinced that there was no hope of defeating the

  ruling party, but I was personally unwilling to continue to be even remotely associated with it. As a

  courtesy, I info
rmed Obasanjo, my state governor Patrick Yakowa and my friends that I was done

  forever with the PDP, and did not care if the party ended up winning the next elections. I did not

  intend to be part of PDP’s evil even if that seemed to be winning for the time being. Except for the

  one required for my ministerial screening documents, I had never really held a party membership card

  or been a registered member of any ward branch of the PDP, so there was nothing else to do other

  than walk away.

  A few days after I had taken this decision, an old friend from our ABU days and a PDP chieftain,

  Ibrahim Sidi Bamalli, called and asked for a meeting with me, my chief of staff and political

  counsellor Balarabe Abbas Lawal. We agreed, and he came to my house with Niger Delta minister

  Godsday Orubebe, whose mission was to persuade me to publicly support Jonathan’s presidential

  aspiration and join his campaign organization. He thought it was necessary for ‘credible northerners’

  that were agnostic towards zoning as matters of principle to support his boss, in light of the

  increasingly effective voice of the Northern Political Leaders’ Forum led by Mallam Adamu Ciroma.

  I responded that even though I had voiced my opposition to zoning as a parameter in leadership

  selection, I also believed that merit must then supplant it. I was clear in my view that Jonathan had not

  shown enough leadership in political and economic matters to earn any public support. I gave

  Orubebe the history of my friendship with Jonathan to make the point that no one needed to be an

  intermediary between us. If Jonathan wanted to talk to me, he knew how to reach me through our

  mutual friend Hassan Tukur. As for joining the Jonathan campaign organization, I explained that I had

  left the PDP and will never ever have anything to do with the party. Orubebe asked me what can be

  done about the Federal Government’s charges in court against me, and I told him to leave it to the

  Federal High Court to decide, and added that I would not accept any withdrawal of charges. He

  concluded by saying he would not give up trying to woo me ‘back to the fold’ and asked that we meet

  again.

  Subsequently, we met twice more and then had an audience with Jonathan on the same subjects. My

  position never changed, but as a friend, Jonathan asked for my honest views out of the quagmire he

  created by denying the existence of the zoning provisions that were clearly entrenched in section 7(1)(

  c) of the constitution of the PDP. I promised to write up my honest views and suggestions as to how

  he can begin to repair the damage he had wrought on the party and the sensibilities of many Nigerians.

  On 8th December 2010, I sent him a three page note which began with this introductory paragraph

  which addressed head-on, the observed parochial mindset of Jonathan and his inner circle :

  President Goodluck Jonathan's aspiration to be re-elected is in danger. Indeed,

  his chances of winning the nomination of his party, the PDP are low and at risk.

  And this has nothing to do with other Nigerians being unwilling to accept his

  candidacy. It also has little or nothing to do with 'Northerners' opposing his

  aspiration because he is from the 'South'. Indeed, Jonathan came into office

  enjoying overwhelming sympathy and goodwill of Nigerians, from every part of the

  country. Furthermore, it was 'Northern' leaders like Generals Abdulsalami

  Abubakar, Buhari and Yakubu Gowon that played leading initiative roles in

  defeating the so-called "northern" Yar'Adua cabal earlier in the year to enable

  him move into real leadership. This current sorry state of affairs has more to do

  with political mismanagement and incompetent response to unfolding events.

  I was then very blunt in pointing out where Jonathan and his team destroyed the goodwill they enjoyed

  in February 2010, and made suggestions that he took tough decisions and specific actions, with some

  deep thought and humility to unite his party and Nigerians behind any presidential aspiration rather

  than his preferred partners – the state governors, Obasanjo and other PDP godfathers. I knew that the

  memo will end further communication with me, and trigger subsequent harassment by Jonathan and his

  guys, since they were not used to being addressed in the very clear and frank manner that I did – and I

  knew it will come across as ‘arrogant and disrespectful’. I did not see or hear from either Jonathan or

  Orubebe until November 2011 when I lost my daughter.

  Yar’Adua administration’s politically-motivated charges against me quashed

  Meanwhile on October 20th, Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja,

  quashed the politically-motivated charges that the Yar’Adua administration had filed against me in

  2009. The kernel of the charges was that I approved the allocation of a plot of land in Abuja to each

  of my two wives – and that exercise of ministerial power or discretion amounted to abuse of office

  because I had “conferred corrupt benefit” on my spouses. The fact that every Nigerian adult is entitled

  under the laws, rules and regulations to an Abuja plot was immaterial to Yar’Adua, Aondoakaa and

  Farida Waziri. It was simply a “gotcha” charge to nail me, and was filed under a law that the

  government’s prosecution lawyer admitted in writing as having been repealed. Even if the law

  remained valid, the charges were filed in the wrong court – the Federal High Court instead of the

  High Court of the FCT. The judge had no choice but to quash the charges and discharge me and my

  two co-accused persons. [175]

  Some days later, on 29th October to be precise, I was invited along to another electoral alliance

  conference at the Abuja Sheraton, with heavyweights like Chief Lateef Jakande, former Governor

  Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Dr. Pat Utomi, Shitta-Bey, and several others at the high table. There were lots

  of speeches and expressions of commitment to unite against the ruling party, but, like other efforts,

  translating that into concrete actions and a unified political platform became a mirage. I left the

  conference to attend a pre-scheduled event, but the media reports wrongly claimed I walked out in

  anger.

  November-December 2010: Alliance Discussions Intensified, then Collapsed

  While these were ongoing, discussions with CPC, Labour and Kowa Party continued to unify them

  around a common platform. CPC and ACN were in discussions as well and it looked like a Buhari-

  Tinubu ticket, or Raji Fashola or Niyi Adebayo as possible running mates to Buhari. All kinds of

  political manoeuvrings were in the air in Lagos, Kaduna, Abuja and Minna. Rumours of all kind were

  in the air, and the Northern Political Leaders Forum had decided on its ‘Northern Consensus’ aspirant

  – former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. There were rumours that Atiku’s huge financial war chest,

  legendary political network and deep roots in the PDP would enable him to defeat Jonathan and his

  godfathers – Obasanjo and the twenty eight PDP state governors. The Electoral Act[176] had

  specified that presidential primaries would take place in respective states, and this would have

  ensured Jonathan’s defeat. In a first show of impunity that would characterize Jonathan’s utter

  disregard for extant laws and rules, the law was amended virtually overnight to have the primaries in

  Abuja.192 And that amendment, coupled with alteration of names of delegates and alleged cash

 
payments of seven thousand dollars to each delegate against Atiku’s three thousand, and intimidation

  by state governors combined to give Jonathan a landslide victory over Atiku in the PDP primaries.

  Former President Obasanjo came to Abuja and sent for me. He took me into his bedroom in the

  presidential suite of the Hilton Hotel for what he said were very important discussions. He appealed

  to me to support Jonathan for president. I responded that since I had left the PDP, the value of my

  support was zero. When Obasanjo insisted on what he called non-partisan expression of public

  support, I explained giving reasons why I could not support Jonathan even if I had been in the PDP

  then. Obasanjo did not disagree with me that Jonathan was personally ill-prepared and incapable of

  shouldering the burdens of the presidency and taking Nigeria as his constituency rather than his very

  narrow Ijaw mindset. I did not agree with Obasanjo that ‘good people’ around Jonathan could help

  him address those fundamental and personal inadequacies. I added that the last six to eight months

  have shown Jonathan only knew how to squander our national savings and borrow more to spend for

  zero results. I then made it clear that he would be on his own in this ‘Jonathan for president’ matter.

  By mid-November, I was convinced that the opposition parties would never unite against the common

  threat to Nigeria’s democracy and development – what I called in Jos the governors’ dictatorship

  party – the PDP. I decided to terminate further active involvement in politics and focus on my

  personal, professional and family life. I revived work on setting up the policy think tank I have

  always wished to pursue. I persuaded Dr. Omano Edigheji, who ran the ANC think tank in South

  Africa, to help out in the set up and establishment of the global knowledge network to make the think

  tank successful.

  On a personal level, I decided to marry a lovely woman I had been dating from my days in exile –

  Aisha Garba Haliru. I met her while still in the cabinet, but did not maintain any further contact.