el-Rufai Was A Curse To Millions In Kaduna State – Middle Belt Forum

By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON

Joining several others in reacting to the live interview of former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai on Channels Television, the Middle Belt Forum has described him as a curse to millions of victims in the State he lorded over for four years.

.
This was contained in the text of a press briefing held by the forum, signed by signed: Air Commodore John Bako Ajeye (Rtd), MBF Kaduna State Chapter, on Saturday.

“The truth is that el-Rufai was more of a curse to the millions of his victims in Kaduna State than a blessing. May el-Rufai never happen to any part of Nigeria directly or indirectly,” the group said.

The Leadership and members of the Middle Belt Forum, said that they invited the media out of a profound sense of duty and necessity.

“The Middle Belt Forum, Kaduna State Chapter, is compelled to address the recent incendiary, false, and deliberately misleading comments made by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, during his appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today.”

“His statements concerning Southern Kaduna, which is an integral part of the Middle Belt community absorbed into the North West geopolitical zone, represents a dangerous escalation in rhetoric and a direct assault on truth and demography.

“For clarity, the Middle Belt of Nigeria comprises the ethnic nationalities of the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory who are not Hausa, Fulani, or Kanuri. Our forum exists to protect the interests and accurate representation of these communities,” the group said.

According to them, ” Today, we must counter this orchestrated campaign of falsehood and demographic gaslighting targeted at the good people of Southern Kaduna and the Middle Belt region.

“The former governor’s interview was a masterclass in deception; a pathetic attempt to rewrite reality and diminish the undeniable political and demographic weight of Southern Kaduna.

“Let us be unequivocal in replacing el-Rufai’s Fiction with facts. His claim that Christians constitute “not even 25%” of Kaduna State is a fiction, a lie from the pit of hell. Verified data from independent and governmental sources presents a starkly different reality,” the MBF said.

They stressed that, “Southern Kaduna” refers to the socio-cultural and historical conglomeration of ethnic nationalities in Kaduna state that are not Hausa or Fulani.

“It is geographically contiguous, with Christianity as its dominant religion.

“It encompasses 12 Local Government Areas, with the 8 LGAs of Kaduna South Senatorial Zone forming its core, plus Chikun, Kajuru, Kaduna South and Lere. This region spans approximately 26,000 square kilometers and is home to a projected population of 5.1 million people. This constitutes almost half of the state’s population today.

“Kaduna State is not a Christian-minority bloc. It is, in fact, a near-balanced state. Southern Kaduna is also a historic hub of education, intellectualism, and civil service excellence, producing legendary Nigerian pioneers like Dr. Barau Dikko and Prof. Ishaya Audu.

“el-Rufai’s attempt to politically diminish Southern Kaduna is not just false; it is the height of ingratitude. The 2023 gubernatorial election, which his protégé, Senator Uba Sani, won by a razor-thin margin of just 10,806 votes, was decisively determined by the votes from Southern Kaduna, which boasts 43.7% of the state’s registered voters.

“For a man who benefitted from a similar coalition in 2015 to now turn around and label the same people as “insignificant” because they roundly rejected his toxic politics of division is a shocking display of arrogance.

“Furthermore, his comparison of the peaceful, democratic Christian communities of Southern Kaduna to the proscribed Shiite movement is not only reckless but deeply bigoted. This dangerous analogy is designed solely to incite hatred and justify the systemic marginalization and violence these communities have endured, particularly under his administration.

“We are not surprised by this vitriol. It is the bitter cry of a man facing a well-deserved political reckoning, the direct consequence of the wicked policies he meted out on the people of Southern Kaduna,” they submitted.

According to them, his administration was marked by deliberate balkanization of their traditional institutions.

“Unjust redrawing of electoral wards to disenfranchise our people.
Wholesale abandonment of critical infrastructure projects. And a shocking, blatant disregard for the security of lives and property.

“He has forgotten that he was the first governor to admit on national television that he paid bandits. He has forgotten he was caught on video stating that the Muslim-Muslim ticket was deliberately chosen to “enthrone Islam.” Now, he contradictorily claims it was merely to win an election. This is the height of dishonesty,” they explained.

They therefore, admonished Malam Nasir el-Rufai to desist from spreading falsehood and poisoning the unity in Kaduna State.

“At his age, he should be seeking peace and making amends, not actively working to plunge future generations into conflict.

“Though his days in the political limelight are numbered, he seems tragically determined to leave the political space as its most disgraced and humiliated figure,” they said.

The group therefore, called on all well-meaning Nigerians, the national media, and responsible civil society organizations to disregard his malicious fabrications and hold him to account for his words.

“The Middle Belt Forum, Kaduna State, remains steadfast in its commitment to advocating for equity, transparent governance, and the unity of all peoples of Kaduna State, a unity that must be built on truth and justice, not the pathological lies of a failed politician.

“el-Rufai left Kaduna State far more in ruins than he met it.
Hundreds of thousands of Kaduna were ruined by his heartless and cruel policies of wanton demolition of residential areas, business premises and inhuman mass sack of workers,” they pointed out.