US tag on Kwankwaso unfair – El Rufai

A former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, yesterday said the recent US tag of a former governor of Kano State, Musa Kwankwaso on the list of individuals obstructing religious freedom in Nigeria was most unfair.

El-Rufai, who spoke on the Arise News Prime Time with Charles Aniagolu on Friday, also assured Nigerians that the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) would give Nigerians a presidential candidate who would defeat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

On Kwankwaso’s listing among individuals and entities sponsoring infringement on religious freedoms in Nigeria by the US Congress, El-Rufai said the tag of the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) raised the stakes far beyond domestic politics.

“First, let me say that as Nigerians we should not get carried away and be pawns in what is essentially domestic political posturing because this whole Christian genocide stuff and the latest bill are just the Republicans playing to their base – the Christian evangelical base in the US. It has nothing to do with Nigeria. I want to lay the foundation,” he said.

El-Rufai also suggested that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may have instigated the indictment against Kwankwaso with the alleged $9 million lobby funds to American firms because he refused to defect to the party.

“It is domestic politics in the US. Secondly, I think it is heartbreaking for me as a citizen of Nigeria. As a government, as a country we are able to protect all our citizens, whether they are Christians or Muslims. Everyone is at risk.

“We all know that. And that, for me, is what we should worry about. It is clear that the country is not secure. The security architecture has failed. The personnel are incompetent or not doing the job. And we need to ask some very difficult questions so that that is recalibrated and every Nigerian will feel safe.

“Coming to the matter of Kwankwaso, I think it is most unfair to tag him. I am trying to figure out whether it is the $9 million lobbying money that led to the listing of Kwankwaso because he has refused to move to the APC. The evil that this government is capable of is beyond the imagination.

“But I cannot think of anyone else because 12 northern states implemented Sharia. The first state to do so was Zamfara. I thought Zamfara should be listed there if at all anyone is to be blamed for this Sharia fiasco. Kwankwaso followed suit like many other northern governors. And Kano did not; he was not very strict in even implementing Sharia,” the former governor said.

On whether he would be running for the presidency in 2027, El Rufai said he was not a candidate for the election and was only planning to complete his book and his PhD studies in retirement but had to get involved to correct the situation in the country.

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