Defence Minister, Musa Accuses El-Rufai Of ‘Terrible Things’ In Kaduna

Christopher Musa, minister of defence, has accused Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, of “doing a lot of terrible things in the state”.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, Musa alleged that the former governor divided the state into two.

“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna state. He divided the state into two. In that, if you are from the south, you cannot go to the north to live. Those ones from the north were moving to the south,” the minister said.

“I mean, you can’t imagine that in the country. The country that is supposed to be one. But Governor Uba Sani, within one year, has been able to dissolve all that.

“You see now, everybody is free. Everybody has a say. It’s not 100 percent, let me tell you; it’s not 100 percent. But you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state.”

Musa said residents in southern Kaduna remained unhappy with el-Rufai over what he described as his role in the killings recorded in the area.

“If you look at his videos, his speeches, he was very proud of what he did. He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this; he did that. He didn’t hide it,” he said.

“He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did.”

The minister, however, said he did not consider el-Rufai an enemy, describing him instead as “misguided”.

“Of course, definitely. I mean, if you look at the number of killings that were done there (southern Kaduna) and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all. And he didn’t give opportunities. We couldn’t do a lot of things,” he said.

“But now you could see that breath of fresh air.”

Musa said his comments were not influenced by his being a native of Kaduna but by his identity as a Nigerian.

He also accused the former governor of demolishing people’s houses and using his influence against residents.

“I can tell you people what he has done to people living in Kaduna state from his own area. He had just personal [issues] with friends. The next thing, he sends a bulldozer to bulldoze your house down. He’s done it. It’s there on the TV,” he said.

“It’s not anything I’m concocting. People just go to YouTube and check what he has done. I mean, you will see a lot of it.

“He did a lot of things that I’m sure even he too is not proud of. Sitting down to look at it, I think he’s not proud of. And nobody should really, really be able to do that.”

Musa called for politicians who would promote unity rather than exploit Nigeria’s religious and ethnic differences.