SCAVENGERS AND THE PURPORTED EL-RUFAI\MODIBBO RIFT

By Shagari Sumner Sambo
Idle minds as the saying goes often find themselves as willing tools in the hands of the devil without their own knowledge and consent atimes or else how can one explain the recent upsurge in some persons who have in the past few weeks inundated the media with all sorts of allegations bothering on the purported tarnishing of the image of erstwhile minister of FCT, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.

Seeking recognition and bearing various nomenclature, these idle minds like vultures seeking devoured flesh where there is none have suddenly decided to in the absence of the devoured flesh created an abattoir where they can stay put before their putrid and much-awaited delicacy is brought to the slaughter slab for onward mastication.

As a young journalist, I have come to observe that a particular question keeps haunting me anytime I go through the dailies and it goes thus: Why do Nigerians have such a great penchance for personality worship of government officials and politicians - whether in power or out of power? The answer according to many critics is not far-fetched as government is big business in Nigeria and the lifewire of a multitude of politicians and their suckers who feed and depend largely on monthly allocations dished out by Abuja to the various administrative and political offices spread across the federation which they most times occupy illegitimately as the case is today.

Taken by the hand through the world of officialdom called government by a tiny elite of officious bureaucrats who have over the years mastered and consolidated the art of treasury looting, these politicians and public office holders are shown the way to the till and how to safeguard it after dipping their hands into it. Having gone through this process once or twice during their tenure without much hullabaloo from the lethargic public, these politicians thus end up building political dynasties that revolve round their personalities and project themselves as untouchables and supposedly big men to which the rest of us must bow to - if we are to be reckoned as “existing”.

The personality cult of sycophants that seem to appear around such an individual as a result of his/her newly acquired power and wealth therefore helps to entrench him/her as a new member of the much-taunted elitist club of bigmanism who must be hero-worshipped by all and sundry.

While reacting to IBB”s recent claim of having fared better in governance than General Obasanjo, Dr Reuben Abati in an article titled “IBB can’t be serious”, Guardian, Friday January 25, 2008, explicitly captured IBB as one of those who have over the years instituted this personality cult worship philosophy when he outrightly stated that “…IBB was more interested in creating a cult of personality which he sustained recklessly with public funds”. He further opined that …“IBB was known as a ‘generous president’ who doled out money at will to buy loyalty. People flocked around him not because they wanted to make a contribution to statecraft but more because they were sure of getting their own share of the national cake”.

For a long time now, this personality cult worship has seeped so much into our marrows to the extent that when an individual heads a public institution, we no longer hear anything much about the institution itself again. Instead, the individual becomes the institution in view and is further personified into it by the lethargic public, as can be deduced from the Ribadu/Kuru course saga, which care less about institutional building probably as a result of the seeming failures of our democratic experiments over the years.

This personality cult worship among other factors may have been responsible for the high rate of these idle fellows, who have consistently bombarded the media in defense of Mallam El-Rufai, gaining sympathy from their kinds who have refused to look at issues arising from various procedural actions taken by the incumbent minister, Dr Aliyu Modibbo Umar. A point they should note however is that they can no longer fool us again as President Umar Yar’Adua’s strict adherence to the rule of law has permeated through the thoughts of right-thinking Nigerians and exposed the hypocrisy that was pervasive in General Obasanjo’s supposedly democratic government in which El-Rufai unfortunately found himself serving zealously.

In as much as one is not out to pour petrol on fire as we say in local parlance via defending Modibbo or castigating El Rufai for crying wolf where there is none, it will be beneficial to Nigerians however if the issues at stake are analyzed in the interest of good governance in the country and placed where there belong.

Right from the period the Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Yar’Adua revoked the allocation of land along the Pedan Dam area of Asokoro on the premise that the said allocation, which was made to prominent politicians and businessmen including the president himself, sat on a green area as captured in the Abuja Masterplan, the former minister and his allies have not stopped inundating the media with all sorts of information and sound bites all aimed at exonerating him, El-Rufai, from an action which he later agreed to have undertaken but was said to have revoked the allocations before leaving office on May 29, 2007 - hence the accusation of Modibbo by the former of “playing to the gallery” in a recent chat with a national daily.

Former minister El-Rufai was also quoted by The Sun of November 23, 2007 to have said that “Modibbo has been my friend of 27 years. But he hasn’t been acting like a friend…”.Furthermore, in Sunday Punch, January 6,2008, Diran Onifade, Special Assistant (Communications) to Dr Modibbo in a full page advertisement written to clear the air on the matter and focus the debate on the issues rather than the personalities involved admitted that El-Rufai’s “friendship with the present minister goes back three decades”.

Now, if El-Rufai acknowledges that Dr Modibbo has been his friend for over three decades, does he or his admirers think that Modibbo will just out of the blues throw away his friendship of three decades to the dogs for political lucre and spoils of office especially when this is not his first or second ministerial appointment? Moreover, ministerial posts often come with some baggage attached such as the constant fear of Mr. President waking up on the wrong side of the bed to dissolve his cabinet or sack a particular minister without owing anyone much explanation. Having this at heart, how many will be willing to sacrifice their friendship (I like referring to friends as ones’own “permanent constituency”) of so long a magnitude for a short while of showmanship?

Anyone who understands the north very well will quickly acknowledge that friendship among northerners is often akin to the relationship that exists between blood-ties as the social networks there have over the years proven to be the most-knitted when it comes to Nigerians trusting themselves. This single act of extreme cordiality and brotherliness has over time been the binding glue that cements relationships among northerners irrespective of ethnicity, religion or political bloc to the admiration and jealousy of other geo-political zones and people. A direct result of Sardauna Ahmadu Bello’s untiring efforts at uniting a people of diverse history, tribes and religion together, this concept has thus become the political compass with which the north has consistently used as to chart her cause and to negotiate her political future within the Nigerian federation without causing much bickering amongst her diverse peoples.

From this context, one can thus conclude that the relationship between El-Rufai and Modibbo can be likened to that which exists between Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State and his immediate predecessor Chief James Ibori who as biological cousins, have refused to allow politics to divide them - despite the looting and money laundering charges the latter is facing in the hands of the EFCC, as can be seen by Uduaghan’s unwillingness to indict or institute a probe against Ibori publicly for the wanton misuse of the state’s resources while in office. But despite his refusal to probe Ibori, the latter is presently cooling off in the gallows at Kaduna Prison as the federal authorities have allowed the law to take its cause based on procedural practices even without recourse to the latter’s alleged contributions of billions of naira to fund Mr. President’s campaign expenses.

Although El-Rufai did not go the way of Ibori as Minister of FCT, nevertheless one cannot but accuse him of high-handedness in government as some of his chief policies, in the midst of several good and courageous ones, were problematic in terms of conception and execution as such policies lacked input from indigenes and residents of FCT who were the primary target – a key factor in policy formulation.

Take the demolition exercise for example, it sounds absurd to hear that about 450 cases were instituted against the last FCT administration by indigenes and residents who felt unfairly treated by the exercise. One would have expected the former minister and his aides to have adopted Public Relations (PR) tactics and measures to solve the issues and engender acceptability of his desires and policies to make the city a befitting capital, but this they did not do. Public Relations here refers to the “management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or organization with the public interest and plans and executes a programme of action to earn public understanding and acceptance” – PR Newsletter. With this understanding, the present FCT administration would not have had this volume of cases at hand to cope with. One must therefore commend the new minister for opting for an out of court settlement to appease the aggrieved parties amicably. This is PR! As my lecturer Mr. Eze would always say in my days as an undergraduate in ABU.

The inability of the past FCT administration to think of the harsh effects of its disobedience to court orders (court ruling on Bullet Construction Company et al) and wanton demolition of properties thus led to the castigation of its head, El-Rufai, by the aggrieved public and this has continued to hunt the latter even after leaving office especially now that observance of the rule of law has been entrenched by the incumbent regime. Thus, this new era of rule of law may have necessitated certain actions to be brought to the public sphere by minister Modibbo which seemed blighting against El-Rufai not because he really intended to do that but because his “hands are tied” by the no-nonsense and straight-forward President Yar’Adua that he has as boss. This may not have been the case were he to be serving under a lawless government like that of General Obasanjo since a friend in need is a friend indeed as the popular saying goes.

Therefore, one cannot but laugh when one comes across such write-ups in the media like “Who wants to pull El-Rufai down” ThisDay, January 13, 2008 among other vocalizations that tend to portray the incumbent minister, Dr Modibbo, as betraying his friend of about three decades through a preconceived smear campaign orchestrated by him and his media team to stop El-Rufai from being nominated for a higher political appointment. This smacks a lack of total understanding of how the FCT system operates as they have failed to consult the constitution or pretend not to be aware that the powers of the minister of the territory is derived from the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which clearly states in Sections 299 and 301 that technically, the President of Nigeria is the governor of Abuja, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is the cabinet for the territory while the National Assembly is its legislature.
If this is the case, then it means that Modibbo is just a representative of President Yar’Adua who often tells him what to do, just like Obasanjo often told El-Rufai what to do, when the need arises. Thus, if President Yar’Adua has made known his mind to adhere strictly to the rule of law by reversing certain policies viewed by the public as undemocratic and unbearable, how can Modibbo then say he would not implement the order because his friend of 27 years is affected .This would of course cost him his job.

However, one feels, and it is apparent, that Modibbo is a tactical team player who has decided to work head-on with the president while sametime finding subtle ways of making sure that the lid protecting some of El-Rufai’s policies does not get totally blown up or uncovered but instead amended or integrated.

In conclusion, I would advise Modibbo himself to be careful with the way and manners he goes to the press to reveal certain information that he would have ordinarily intimated his friend long before bringing it to the public domain because it is now apparent that the former is piqued to the extent of thinking that he (Modibbo) has closed the doors of friendship to him. All these media war should be settled amicably through a genuine and persuasive means of communication that would help rekindle those good old days between both and give their spouses lesser issues to worry about.

On his part, El-Rufai should stop expending all his energies on contacting his media friends, spin doctors and so-called admirers from shoring up for him through sentimental journalism and media gimmicks as they will lead him no where – ask Nuhu Ribadu. Instead, they will end up creating a deep rift between him and Modibbo so that they will continue to benefit from the ensuing brouhaha especially as scavengers – which they are indeed. In this season of political reconciliation – especially between formerly hard-stance politicians like Umar Ghalli Na’Abba, Abubakar Rimi and Kwanwanso et al, El-Rufai should be courageous and bold enough to reconcile with some sections of the public, friends and political associates he may have trampled upon during his tenure as BPE DG and FCT minister under General Obasanjo’s babacratic or is it demoncratic government?
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