El-Rufai, Ramalan and good governance
My upbringing, training, tradition and religion taught me to be cautious when dealing with elders because their words are widely believed to be words of wisdom. By all standards you are among our political elders in Kaduna State. Your open memo to His Excellency, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State dated 20/03/2017 raises some fundamental issues, that if critically analyzed bothers only on crisis of confidence.
As you confessed not to make your memo long, please also permit me to do same. But mine may be a little bit different due to prevailing circumstances. It is said that the vision of a blind man is by the limit of his touch and that of an ignorant man is by the limit of his knowledge.
Most critics and mischief makers normally hide under the company of ignorance to mislead the masses for selfish reasons. That’s why information distortions have become a lucrative business, especially in democratic governance.
You did yourself a serious favour for not going deep into the memo Governor El-Rufai wrote to President Buhari on some sensitive national issues.
That memo was written in good faith based on his sincere, deep moral feelings for Nigeria and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the ruling party. But Nigeria is such a terrible society where criminals and sycophants are celebrated while innocents are sacrificed, punished and brutalized to silence. Therefore, the mixed reactions that came up after the leakage of the memo were a satanic calculation by antagonists in the corridor of power to distort the good intention of Governor El-Rufai’s good intention. In summary, the memo was intended to put the records straight, anchor a solid foundation that will enable the administration to realize the change mantra policy of APC government in Nigeria. By implication, progress ever for Nigeria that will vindicate APC government promises for ‘change’. Robert E. Kennedy said that ‘Progress is a nice word, but change is its motivator and that change has its enemies’.
Those are exactly the enemies that have distorted Governor ElRufai memo in order to castigate him. There is no hope for them to succeed. The truth will definitely come out one day.
Back home to Kaduna State, Alh. Tijjani Ramalan is one of the most respected stakeholders recognized by Governor El-Rufai. Your observation about the entire governance and APC as a party in Kaduna State is most shocking to many of us, in fact, misleading. As the State Caucus’s chairman, you are to anchor peace between the stakeholders and the governor. You should use your position to mobilize and control the stakeholders, loyalists and general party members, only to periodically brief him for necessary actions. Except if you want us to know that you have failed to discharge that responsibility as expected. Therefore, if as you said, there are grievances of use and dump, lack of consultations and neglect of stakeholders, maybe it is due to your failure to carry out the responsibilities vested on your State Caucus chairmanship.
About the vacancies in state party positions, it is not limited or peculiar to Kaduna State alone. The situation is the same in all the states and even National Working Committee of APC. The National Executive Committee of APC has been making all the necessary arrangements to refill all the vacancies.
Your call for urgent Caucus/ Stakeholders and Executive committees meeting is a welcome development, but Governor ElRufai has started the necessary reconciliatory process as indicated in the recent cabinet re-constitution which even includes a member of APC-AKIDA group - Hajiya Hafsat M. Baba as Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development.
With due respect, Governor El-Rufai has been consulting you on many sensitive government programmes-appointments and projects inclusive. If the administrative restructuring did not favour you, it may be because Governor El-Rufai does not associate with failures. You and some of those referred to as frustrated stakeholders are not helping the administration at all. Your positions as elder should be used to promote love, loyalty and support for the government but instead, otherwise has always been your mission. For record purposes, let me refer you back a little. From 1991 to 1993, you were one of the kingpins in late Dabo Lere’s government. It also repeated itself during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
The experiences you gathered during those periods should enable you to know that that is one of the most difficult empirical judgments ahead of a leader. Governor Nasir El-Rufai has good programmes, good working team and has been working hard to move Kaduna State to a greater height - please let us wish him well, pray for him, support him and advise him sincerely.
Nelson Mandela said “a good head and a good heart are the best combinations for performance”. Governor El-Rufai fit into that proverb. Let us give him the benefit of confidence to work with those he has absolute confidence in their credibility’s order to make Kaduna State great again. The past practice of me or my boys, or, nobody else should be a forgotten story in our body politics. Anti Kaduna wrote this piece from