Kaduna 2015: Yero, El-rufai in War of Words
John Shiklam, in Kaduna, writes on the growing political rivalry between Governor Muktar Yero and Mallam Nasiru El-rufai, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the opposition APC
Although, Governor Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, one of the governorship aspirants in the opposition All Progressives Congress in the state are yet to emerge as the flag bearers of their political parties for the 2015 general elections, the war of words between the two politicians is generating a lot of interest in the state. El-Rufai has been a fierce critic of the Yero-led PDP administration in Kaduna State. The APC aspirant had served as the Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises and later Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under the Peoples Democratic Party government headed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The growing political rivalry between Yero and El-Rufai, both of who come from Zaria in the Northern Senatorial zone of the state, is causing serious concern among observers. The fear is that if, eventually, the two men emerge flag bearers of their parties, there may be serious confrontation between their supporters.
Public Spat
PDP has five governorship aspirants, including Yero, while APC has three aspirants, including El-Rufai, but the the governor and the former minister are the only gladiators that have engaged each other in such fierce rivalry in their quest to govern the state.
The rivalry took a different dimension early this month when the former minister lashed out at the state government for underdeveloping the state and impoverishing the people as a result of bad leadership. El-Rufai accused the Yero administration of incompetence, saying it is a huge failure, a situation that agitated the governor and his aides.
During his formal declaration for the governorship race at the Kaduna International Trade fair on November 3, El-Rufai had urged the people to liberate themselves from the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment by voting competent people. He said he had undertaken a tour of all the local governments in the state, lamenting that in most of the communities he visited, there was no government presence.
El-Rufai had stated before his crowd of supporters, “Over the last few months, I have traversed all the 23 local government areas in Kaduna State and visited tens of communities. Some of the places I visited were so remote, isolated and cut off from government that it would have been difficult to believe that they were part of Kaduna State.
“To say that I was shocked by the level of neglect is an understatement. Our road networks have fallen into disrepair; our schools have no basic teaching and learning tools; our teachers are not motivated; our hospitals and clinics lack essential resources to mitigate the challenges of healthcare and our civil servants are not being sufficiently motivated.”
He stated further that poverty had become worse while unemployment had become more pervasive, as agricultural productivity had declined and internally generated revenues were too low to even pay salaries.
According to the former minister, “Kaduna State, which used to be known for its industries, now barely has flourishing or profitable factories. Even basic sanitation is absent because Kaduna and most of our local government area headquarters are being overtaken by garbage. Today, our state is littered with uncompleted projects, discarded plans and broken promises…
“As we are today, who can tell me what has been done with the hundreds of billions of naira that Kaduna State has received from the federation account in the last seven years or so? What old projects have been completed? What new ones have been initiated? What plans are in place for the future? Indeed, do we even have a future in Kaduna State under the current administration? Evidently, the answer is no!
“We cannot deny that the stagnation in Kaduna State at present is mainly because the goodwill of the people and our resources are being mismanaged. We have the power to free our state from corruption, greed, nepotism and incompetence. That power is guaranteed in your right to vote.”
Yero was, ostensibly, upset by El-Rufai’s torrents of criticism and allegations, prompting a swift reaction by his director general, media and publicity, Ahmed Maiyaki, who accused the former minister of exaggerating the situation of things in the state for political gain.
Maiyaki, in statement, described El-Rufai as a talkative who deliberately ignored the facts on the ground by peddling lies to the people he aspires to govern.
In the statement titled “Kaduna State is working under Governor Yero,” Maiyaki insisted that Yero had performed since he came to power, adding that the Yero administration is popular.
The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to the desperate attempt by Mallam Nasir El-Rufa’i, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the APC, to portray a bleak state of affairs in Kaduna State through exaggeration of the true situation of things.
“While we don’t blame the aspirant for his political gimmick aimed at cajoling members of his party, we believe the former minister deliberately ignored the facts by peddling outright lies in an apparent display of a huge disconnect with the same people that he aspires to govern.
“We may have ignored El-Rufa’i’s tirade against the administration of His Excellency, Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, because the former minister is already renowned as loquacious, but we deem it necessary to address some of the misinformation central to his comment.
“For the benefit of the general public, especially, those that listened to the former minister from outside Kaduna State, the administration of Governor Yero remains very popular in the entire state and is working tirelessly to improve the overall living conditions of the people.
“It is an incontrovertible fact that Kaduna State witnessed improved security and peaceful atmosphere since the emergence of Governor Yero in December 2012. There has been reduction in crime rate as well as increased mutual understanding among the diverse ethnic groups in the state. Kaduna people have shown genuine willingness to live peacefully with one another.”
Maiyaki further said, “For El-Rufa’i’s information, the Yero administration has recorded tremendous achievements in improving the standards of education and the result is there for all to see. For instance, this year, Kaduna State came third in overall national standing in the WAEC Senior School Certificate Examination. Such success and many more were as result of massive investment in infrastructure, manpower development, and provision of teaching equipment. For instance, the construction/rehabilitation of over 187 schools, recruitment of additional 1800 teachers and training of teachers in core subjects at secondary school level has yielded positive result.
“In the health sector, Kaduna State has emerged as the first state in the North-west to be free from polio in the last 24 months. This is verifiable if the former minister cared to check.”
Yero’s media aide said, “The APC governorship aspirant is also clearly out of touch with the state not to have known that civil servants are paid their salaries and allowances as and when due. For his information, Kaduna State is one of the few states in the country where workers are not owed salaries, allowances and other benefits. The Yero administration is committed to maintaining a well motivated work force. This led to the payment of N6.7 billion backlog of gratuity and death benefits. Some of the liabilities dated back to 2005. As at today, no retiree is owed pension in the state…
“The people of Kaduna are not unaware of the mischievous antics of the ‘opportunists-selfcentered accidental-politician who is struggling to ride on the popularity of a man he once despised to clinch the governorship ticket of the APC. “It is uncharitable of El-Rufa’i to say that Kaduna is being led by ‘self-centred’ politicians. It is on record and equally verifiable that Governor Yero has never selfishly allocated lands to members of his family or relations.”
Maiyaki said, “Our advice is while on this sojourn as an ‘accidental politician,’ El-Rufa’i should respect the sensibilities of the people of Kaduna State who are much better informed on the true state of affairs in Kaduna State. The former minister cannot deceive the people, many of whom he once chased out of Abuja and dissociated with.”
The director of media of El-Rufai Campaign Organisation, Alhaji Mohammed Soba, fired back. He said the government’s reaction to the issues raised was short of credible and specific rebuttals. Soba maintained that in seeking the APC ticket to serve as governor of Kaduna State, El-Rufai had studied the state’s figures and knows the magnitude of the challenge in the state.
The fact, according to Soba, “is that the PDP government has rapidly accumulated public debts since 2007.” He said the figures from the 2014 report of the Debt Management Office showed that Kaduna State had the highest debt per capita in the country. He stated further that Kaduna State was also ranked as the worst place to do business among the 19 northern states, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, 2013.
Debunking claims by the state government that poverty and unemployment in the state had reduced, Soba, who said he had obtained data from the National Bureau of Statistics, insisted that unemployment rate in Kaduna State was well above the national average, adding that the state is the second in the poverty index among the seven states in the north-west zone.
“The state’s budget profile does not display a development orientation,” he said, “for instance; the state’s capital to recurrent ratio has declined from 77 per cent to 55 per cent, reflecting a preference to spend for the pleasure and comfort of the ruling clique.”
Soba added, “The state government’s 2014 budget shows that they intend to spend N4.8 billion as security votes, split into two categories: security vote of N2.1billion, and another N2.7 billion as security vote (preventive and supportive). This same 2014 budget allocates N400 million to the office of the Secretary to the State Government for ‘traditional gifts’ and N285 million for entertainment…
“The incumbent government is entitled to delude itself that its spendthrift and ineffectual style is actually the apogee of governance. But the people of Kaduna State see, feel, and know the worsening levels of insecurity, debt burden, infrastructural decay, corruption and poverty in the state.
“The communities being subjected to unrelenting slaughter in southern Kaduna know there are security issues, and that the government has treated them with indifference. So do the communities in the Birnin Gwari area who have endured unresolved attacks on their lives and chattel.
“Human suffering in these parts is a reality, and denying it does not mitigate the pains of those who are affected; rather it confirms that the state government simply does not care. It took the governor months to consider visiting affected communities in southern Kaduna, despite the savagery of the killings recorded there.”
Dangerous Prognosis
Many fear that if Yero and El-Rufai emerge as governorship candidates of their parties, the political atmosphere may become dangerously tenser.
According Alhaji Murtala Abubakar, a chieftain of APC in the state, what is happening between the governor’s camp and El-Rufai’s camp is unhealthy and such attitude has exposed their political desperation.
Abubakar said, “None of them is the candidate of their political parties, yet they are acting as if they are the flag bearers. What we are witnessing is more of personality conflict than the issues at stake. The two of them come from Zaria in the northern zone of Kaduna State. They are trying to secure the votes from their zone if they finally become candidates of their parties.
“If both of them eventually emerge as candidates, they will hit up the polity and cause tension. If care is not taken, they may move from verbal attack on each other to confrontation. Both of them have a chunk of supporters from Kaduna Central Zone and the Northern zone, so it may heighten political tension, unless they resolve to stop the verbal attack on each other. It would be in the interest of all of us to have peaceful elections in 2015 and the two of them have greater role to play in ensuring peace.”
Also commenting, Mr. Joshua Yakubu, a political analyst, said, “The two of them have not been elected, but see what they are exhibiting. EL-Rufai has been very critical of Yero; I have been listening to his speeches on radio whenever he is campaigning. He has been challenging Yero on issues concerning the state and I don’t see anything wrong with that because this is time for campaigns and as long as you are not attacking the personality of your opponent, there is no crime in that.”
But there is a danger of the mutual diatribe between Yero and El-Rufai degenerating into violent confrontations between their supporters if the two gladiators do not curtail the public spat.