The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has accused former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai of policies and actions that allegedly widened divisions in the state during his administration.
Musa made the allegation on Thursday night during an interview on Channels Television, where he claimed that El-Rufai’s administration created an atmosphere in which residents from southern Kaduna could not freely settle in the northern part of the state, while those from the north similarly relocated southward.
“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the state into two. If you are from the south, you cannot go to the north to live. Those ones from the north were moving to the south,” Musa said.
The minister, however, commended the incumbent governor, Uba Sani, for what he described as deliberate efforts to bridge the divisions and restore freedom of movement among residents across the state.
“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,” he said.
“You see now, everybody is free. Everybody has a say. It’s not 100 per cent, let me tell you; it’s not 100 percent. But you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state.”
Musa further alleged that the handling of security challenges and killings in southern Kaduna under El-Rufai had left many residents dissatisfied with the former governor’s administration.
He also referenced El-Rufai’s reported public comments on measures taken to address insecurity, particularly allegations that his administration paid bandits.
“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 alleged.
“He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did.”
Despite his criticisms, Musa said he did not consider the former governor an enemy, but described him as “misguided”.
The minister argued that the scale of killings recorded in southern Kaduna during El-Rufai’s tenure was significantly worse than the current situation, adding that the former administration did not create sufficient room for security interventions.
“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,” Musa said.
“But now you could see that breath of fresh air.”
Musa stressed that his comments were not driven by his own connection to Kaduna State, but by his concerns as a Nigerian over developments in the country.
He also alleged that El-Rufai abused his position by ordering the demolition of properties belonging to residents following personal disagreements.
“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 alleged.
“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 is not proud of. Sitting down to look at it, I think he’s not proud of it. And nobody should really be able to do that.”
Musa stressed the need for political leaders who would promote unity rather than exploit religious and ethnic differences to divide the country.
