Southern Kaduna and Middle Belt groups have strongly criticised former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, over what they descri...
Southern Kaduna and Middle Belt groups have strongly criticised former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, over what they described as "unguided and divisive statements" targeted at the people of Southern Kaduna.
The Southern Kaduna Awake Group and the Middle Belt Forum (Kaduna chapter) made their position known in response to El-Rufai’s comments during a recent appearance on a Channels Television programme, where he allegedly described Southern Kaduna people as violent, entitled, and less than 25 percent of the state's population.
At a press conference in Kaduna, the National Youth Leader of the Middle Belt Youth Forum, Nasiru Jagaba, accused the former governor of peddling hate speech and harbouring bitterness over the rejection of his ministerial nomination by the Senate last year—an outcome largely influenced by petitions from Southern Kaduna.
“El-Rufai’s eight years in office will be remembered for mass sackings of civil servants, unjust expansion of grazing reserves on indigenous lands, and his failure to protect communities from incessant attacks,” Jagaba stated.
The groups also condemned El-Rufai’s comparison of the Southern Kaduna population to the Shiite Islamic Movement led by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, calling it a reckless and dangerous attempt to criminalize an entire ethnic group.
They further debunked El-Rufai’s claims of Southern Kaduna's marginalisation under the current administration, pointing out that the President Bola Tinubu-led government has cited major federal projects in the area—including the University of Applied Sciences and a Federal Medical Centre.
Echoing this stance, publisher of Gurara Accord, Bomba Dauda, described El-Rufai as a “politically irrelevant figure who uses Southern Kaduna as a scapegoat to stay in the news.”
“His administration thrived on division and undemocratic practices. He suppressed one part of the state to gain favour from another, often using religion as a tool. But that tactic is outdated and no longer resonates in today’s Nigeria,” Dauda added.
He urged Nigerians to reject El-Rufai’s rhetoric and hold him accountable for promoting narratives that could incite communal conflict and deepen societal divisions.
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