The Accidental Public Servant

by El-Rufai, Nasir

  administration, Obasanjo warned Yar'Adua to be careful and cautious in relating with Nuhu Ribadu

  and Nasir El-Rufai. As an army general and strong president, he allegedly told Umaru, he had great

  difficulty managing us. He added that we were strong-willed and stubborn - loose cannons if you like.

  Perhaps that was his idea of extracting revenge. I never asked Obasanjo about this and did not care.

  This is because I am quite clear in my mind that Yar'Adua selectively did what he wished, not

  everything Obasanjo desired!

  [125]

  My various conversations with many in the Yar’Adua inner circle, including Mike Aondoakaa and

  James Ibori, alluded to this. At the point in time I heard these, none of them was on good terms with

  Obasanjo and their views may have been coloured by that.

  [126]

  Indeed, many members of the Yar’Adua inner circle hold the view that Nuhu Ribadu’s travails

  escalated when the EFCC submitted a report giving Obasanjo a clean bill of health of allegations of

  corruption after investigating a petition against him by a civil society organization. The petition was

  reportedly handed to Nuhu by Yar’Adua personally in late 2007 or early 2008.

  [127]

  The persons at the meeting were Ngozi, Oby, Nuhu, Jim Ovia, Tony Elumelu, Andy Uba, Tanimu

  Yakubu, Aliko Dangote, Nasir El-Rufai and Hakeem Belo-Osagie.

  [128]

  I went to Katsina for the wedding of the daughters of Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, along with Dr. Aliyu

  Modibbo and Inuwa Baba. Umaru offered the governor’s guest house and we had lunch after the

  wedding fatiha.

  [129] It was in this role that Umaru caught the eye and affections of his future wife, Turai, then

  attending teachers' college. She was strong-willed and focused on her goals - to marry him - and she

  chased the shy Umaru to submission and they got married in 1976.

  [130]

  Yar’Adua had asked me and Dr. Aliyu Modibbo to co-chair a transition strategy team for him with

  Tanimu Yakubu, Bode Agusto, Femi Fani-Kayode, Dele Olojede, Dr. Isabella Okagbue, Senator

  Udoma Udo Udoma, Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Ifueko Omoigui and Lt.-Gen. Salihu Ibrahim. We held our

  first meeting on 6th May 2007, but discontinued within two weeks, when Tanimu and Dr. Modibbo

  stopped attending.

  [131]

  My reaction to Attorney-General Mike Aondoakaa’s suggestion (see The Guardian, 16th April 2009

  http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article01//indexn2_html?

  pdate=160409&ptitle=Govt%20to%20raise%20panel%20over%20Halliburton%20scam) that my

  essay on Yar’Adua – Great Expectations, Disappointing Outcomes – was aimed at getting asylum was

  publicized widely in the media. See for instance – “El-Rufai: I am Not Seeking Asylum”, ThisDay

  17th April 2009, pp. 1 and 6.

  [132]

  Eventually the reverse happened, as Umaru died less than a week after my return to Nigeria. I landed

  in Abuja on 1st May 2010. Umaru died the evening of 5th May 2010. Many people do not even

  remember that I returned while he was still alive. Some think that Jonathan facilitated my return or I

  got back home at his invitation or returned only after Yar’Adua died – not one of these is true.

  [133]

  Obasanjo as military head of state oversaw the Petroleum Ministry as minister for this period when

  Colonel Muhammadu Buhari (as he then was) left office in July 1978 to attend the US War College.

  Obasanjo did not appoint a successor to Buhari and ran the NNPC directly. He repeated the same

  between 1999 and 2006 as an elected president.

  [134]

  Certainly if the watch is a diamond-crusted Rolex from a construction company or bank doing

  business, or expecting to bid for, business in one’s ministry or agency, then that is prohibited by the

  Code of Conduct in the Constitution!

  [135]

  The letter, referenced CR: 3000/EFCC/ABJ/BF.2/VOL.33/189 and dated 18th October, 2008,

  requested me to report to Steven Otitoju, Deputy Director of Operations on Friday, 28th November

  2008. The letter was addressed and delivered to my home in Abuja.

  [136]

  This widely circulated paper is available on http://el-rufai.org/2009/05/the-yaradua-paper/ and on the websites of several Nigerian newspapers and blogging platforms. It is an edited version of a term

  paper for the Leadership and Governance in Africa class taught by Professor Robert Rotberg of the

  Harvard Kennedy School. Professor Rotberg gave me an A for the effort.

  [137] My speech presented on 10th June 2009 was titled Nigerian Political Dynamics and Prospects

  for Reform. Both audio and PDF versions of the presentation are available on

  http://csis.org/event/nigeria-political-dynamics-and-prospects-reform

  [138] See “Time for a new Nigerian President” published in the web version of Foreign Policy on 1st

  April, 2010. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/04/01/time_for_a_new_nigerian_president

  [139]

  For example Jeff Santos interviewed me on WWZN Revolution Boston, with the audio downloadable

  f r o m : http://revolutionboston.com/podcast_archive/2010/01/20100105/20100105_2.mp3on 5th

  January, 2010. I spoke several times on the nationally-syndicated Bev Smith Show between July 2009

  and March 2010 as well.

  [140]

  After the collapse of the Third Term project, Nuhu Ribadu persuaded Obasanjo to appoint Sarki

  Mukhtar as the NSA once General Aliyu Gusau left in May 2006. We had met Sarki Mukhtar at the

  Aspen NLI Fellowship seminar in January of that year, where he impressed both of us with his

  unusual candour about the mistakes and missed opportunities of prolonged military rule in Nigeria.

  Two years later, in what amounted to a reversal of fortunes and an interesting turn of events, Sarki

  was the person that was tasked with the job of eliminating both Nuhu and me, physically if necessary,

  to ensure national security – a task he pursued with relish and single-minded dedication! He was fired

  by Jonathan in March 2010, and replaced by General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau!

  [141]

  Dr. Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, another Barewa Old Boy, former commissioner of health in my home state

  of Kaduna, was Majority Leader in the Senate when we were in the Cabinet. We had a decent

  relationship and I did my best to respond to his multiple requests for favours while I was in office.

  That is why he would call me his brother. It had nothing to do with being from Zaria, Kaduna or

  Barewa College! That is the language of Nigerian prebendalist politicians!

  [142] This is a common refrain in Nigeria. “I am just doing my job.” Even if doing the act in question

  violates laws, rules, regulations and morality, the Nigerian thinks it is justified. Keeping one’s public

  service job appears in the minds of many to be more important than doing what is right, lawful and

  moral. Why then do we wonder that our public service sucks and our nation is becoming increasingly

  dysfunctional?

  [143]

  The Federal High Court held that the Federal Government acted unconstitutionally and awarded me

  N1 million damages against each of the four agencies that we sued jointly. This was widely reported

  in

  the

  media. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/11/court-orders-fg-to-pay-el-rufai-n1m-for-

  passport-seizure/ and in Peoples’ Daily, See: http://www.peoplesdaily-online.com/news/national-

  news/24220-el-rufai-ge
ts-n1m-damages-against-fg- both dated 15th November, 2011. Nearly six

  months after the judgment, which was never appealed, none of the government agencies has paid the

  damages! For me, the legal and moral victory exceeded the paltry amount.

  [144] What I learnt while in exile and this was subsequently confirmed from sources within the

  Yar’Adua inner circle was that had I returned in October 2008 when EFCC declared me wanted,

  there was a plan hatched in the NSA’s office to inject me with cultures of HIV and Hepatitis viruses

  while in detention. That would accelerate and ensure my death through natural causes well before the

  elections of 2011, which Yar’Adua’s marabouts had assured him I was going to contest against him.

  [145]

  ‘Mumu’ is a Pidgin English term popular throughout Nigeria for a naïve person – one that can be

  deceived or fooled easily and repeatedly.

  [146]

  My old friend from our Kaduna days, and experienced political operative, Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim,

  added knowledge of history to this initial list of necessary prerequisites for public leadership that I

  outlined to Nuhu. Bashir was secretary of the Northern Political Leaders’ Forum that championed the

  observance of the zoning provisions entrenched in the PDP constitution.

  [147]

  The Harvard Alumni Association records list me as a 1996 graduate - when I completed the

  Owner/President Management programme – my first programme at Harvard. Since then my student ID

  has carried the same number through the AMP in 2002 and MPA Mid-Career/Mason Fellows

  Programme between 2008 and 2009. The June 2009 graduation was my third Harvard graduation.

  [148]

  Incidentally, it was also in Aspen, Colorado while attending the ACT II gathering of Aspen Institute

  Global Leadership Fellows on the 15th June 2009 that the first outline of this book was written.

  [149]

  The Nation newspaper of 5th October 2009 reported that Nuhu and I had formed a political group,

  with the backing of Lt. Gen T Y Danjuma, and Senator Ken Nnamani. I learnt later that the report

  caused

  some

  ripples

  in

  the

  State

  House.

  See

  for

  instance

  http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/nvnews/1259/1/danjuma-el-rufai-ribadu-strange-bed-fellows-new-

  po.html and the story reproduced in full on my website – http://el-rufai.org/new-governance-for-

  nigeria/

  [150]

  See for instance classified cables recently released by wikileaks.com – SUBJECT: PRESIDENT

  YAR'ADUA FLIES YET AGAIN TO SAUDI ARABIA FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT REF: A.

  ABUJA 1475 (NOTAL), ¶B. ABUJA 1760 (NOTAL), ¶C. ABUJA 1945 (NOTAL) ¶D. ABUJA 1962

  (NOTAL), ¶E. USUN NEW YORK 1035 (NOTAL) - Classified By: Political Counselor James P.

  McAnulty for reasons in Sections 1.4 (B) and (D)

  [151]

  Garba Aminchi was the deputy governor to Umaru Yar’Adua in his time in Katsina.

  [152]

  Sultan Saad Abubakar III is the spiritual leader of Nigeria’s Muslims and a descendant of Shehu

  Usman Danfodio. His father was the cousin of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto. Sultan

  Saad was two years my senior at Barewa College, and is a retired general of the Nigerian Army. We

  maintained contact and good relations throughout my public service years.

  [153]

  The last time I met face-to-face with Turai was in February 2008 when Nuhu’s problems with Umaru

  had begun with his forced movement to NIPSS, Kuru. At Nuhu’s urging, I flew from Dubai to London

  to meet with her at Grosvenor House with the assistance of her aide and a mutual friend, Toyin

  Fagbayi. I appealed to Turai to advise her husband to focus and complete the NIPP projects Obasanjo

  started to improve electric power supply in the country. I explained to her that suspending the

  implementation of NIPP on any pretext was not in the overall interest of the country and Umaru’s

  legacy. When I sought her intervention to repair Umaru’s relationship with Nuhu, she attempted to end

  the meeting abruptly. I insisted that I was not done, and assured her that as a police officer and public

  servant, Nuhu would work well with Umaru. However, I could see that their mind had been made up

  on the subject. I called Nuhu and updated him, but noted the need for him to be very careful in his

  handling of the relationship with his new boss, President Umaru Yar’Adua.

  [154]

  See “Nasir El-Rufai writes Obama” http://www.nairaland.com/378773/nasir-el-rufai-writes-obama-

  u.s, accessed on 15th March 2012.

  [155]

  See Endnote 138 above.

  [156]

  Beginning in January 2010, the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) organized Nigerians protesting

  Yar’Adua’s disappearance in Australia (12th January), London, UK and Lagos, Nigeria (15th

  January), New York, US (22nd January), and Abuja (10th March). Pastor Bakare personally led the

  protests, with his wife and children in tow in both Lagos and Abuja. Some of the videos are available

  on YouTube. For instance, see the following clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovvq82hPUvQ

  and after Jonathan became acting president in February 2010, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?

  NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=DBTH2tv9OvQaccessed 31st March 2012.

  [157]

  See “Yar’Adua is brain-damaged” in Next on Sunday, January 10 2010. The full story is available

  online

  at http://www.jaguda.com/2010/01/10/yar-adua-brain-damaged-according-to-234next-com/

  accessed 18th March 2012

  [158]

  See Interview – “Nigeria’s Jonathan could win backing as candidate” By: Matthew Tostevin,

  Wednesday,

  February

  17,

  2010.

  See

  http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-48544.html accessed 31st March, 2012

  [159]

  The Good Governance Group had filed an application to register the Patriotic Peoples’ Congress

  (PPC) as our left of centre political party, with Nuhu’s friend and nominee Kalli Algahzali as Protem

  Chairman. The application was not pursued to conclusion once the group took other decisions on our

  political direction.

  [160]

  Accra was chosen as the location for our meeting rather than Dubai because, according to AC, their

  chairman, Bisi Akande, found the seven hour flight in Bola Tinubu’s private jet too long. Asiwaju

  Bola Tinubu and AC National Secretary, Dr. Usman Bugaje, were expected to attend. None of the

  three party big-wigs came for various reasons. We took everything in absolute good faith.

  [161]

  See for instance Vanguard newspaper of 29th April, 2010 – ‘El-Rufai Returns’

  http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/el-rufai-returns/

  [162]

  General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau was very gracious and supportive of me personally during my

  difficult years. He called anytime he was abroad just to say hello, and encouraged me to ‘hang in

  there’. When he was unable to reach me, he made a habit of leaving goodwill messages with my

  friend, Jimi Lawal. I will forever appreciate his open expression of concern towards my person and

  family always.

  [163]

  My return was widely reported in the media. See for instance The Nation, which we considered the

  EFCC’s unofficial
mouthpiece: Seehttp://thenationonlineng.net/web2/articles/45054/1/-el-Rufai-

  returns-dares-EFCC/Page1.html

  and

  The

  Sunday

  Tribune

  of

  2nd

  May,

  2010

  http://www.tribune.com.ng/sun/index.php/front-page-articles/892-el-rufai-returns-visits-efcc-tuesday

  [164]

  Mubadala Development Company is one of the sovereign wealth funds of the Abu Dhabi government.

  Its board is chaired by Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. We

  developed an excellent working relationship with the Crown Prince. We found him to be a thoughtful

  and decisive leader. Mubadala was granted the license upon payment of $400 million to the NCC.

  Mubadala then engaged Etisalat as operator of the license, and divested 40% of the operating

  company to Etisalat and 30% for Nigerians.

  [165]

  This was widely reported on several blogging sites like Sahara Reporters. Pastor Bakare’s narration

  of what happened is on YouTube. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvfOo1P-nQ, accessed on

  March 31, 2012.

  [166]

  “El-Rufai’s Arrogance” was syndicated and published by The Nation and Daily Trust of Wednesday

  19th

  May,

  2010.

  It

  was

  also

  published

  by

  many

  online

  bloggers

  like

  http://newsdiaryonline.com/haruna_rufai.htm accessed on 30th March, 2012.

  [167]

  Other regular attendees at the steering committee meetings, which always took place in the conference

  room of Chief Dr. Raymond Dokpesi’s AIT, included Dr. Abiye Precious Sekibo, Prof. A B C

  Nwosu, Dr. Nora Obaji, Musa Elayo, Femi Fani-Kayode, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Chris Ekpenyong

  and Nenadi Esther Usman. They were all threatened with suspension from the PDP at some point.

  [168]

  See for instance a newspaper report of the PDP NEC’s communique in the Nigeria Tribune – ‘PDP

  Dissolves

  Nnamani,

  Masari’s

  Forum’,

  on

  Saturday

  19th

  June,

  2010.

  See

  http://www.tribune.com.ng/sat/index.php/front-page-articles/1355-pdp-dissolves-nnamani-masaris-

  forum.html accessed on 30th March 2012.