September 1, 2025
By Patrick Anum
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Elrufai’s appearance on Channels Television was billed as a rare opportunity for reflection after eight years in power. Instead, it once again exposed the deep contradictions, selective memory, and dangerous narratives that have long defined his politics in Kaduna and beyond.
We know him well enough to understand that he rarely speaks without distortion, rarely remembers without revision, and rarely admits culpability without shifting blame. What was striking this time, however, was the brazenness with which he recycled old propaganda, contradicted his own record, and inadvertently confirmed some of the darkest suspicions about his tenure.
Elrufai proudly declared that he “dealt with leaders” in Southern Kaduna. The phrasing was chilling, because for us, “dealt with” is not a metaphor. It was under his government that the Agwom Adara, the revered traditional ruler of the Adara people, was murdered after returning from a trip to see him. That crime remains unsolved, buried in the familiar silence of impunity. For Elrufai to sit on national television and boast about “dealing with leaders” is to pour salt on wounds that remain fresh. Did he just admit culpability?
THE EMPTY ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION
For years, Elrufai has peddled the claim that Southern Kaduna leaders came to him cap in hand, demanding bribes. He alleged that they once collected “$20,000 medical allowances” from previous governments. But where is the evidence? He governed Kaduna State for eight years with every security and intelligence agency at his disposal. He never produced a document, a receipt, or a single name.
He never brought a single Southern Kaduna leader before a court for these supposed bribes. Instead, he weaponized the accusation as a political tool, delegitimizing the grievances of an already marginalized people.
Contrast this with his own record of “negotiating” with terrorists. By his own admission, Elrufai traveled to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad to meet Fulani terrorists, carrying taxpayers’ money to pay them. This is the same man who claims he “does not tolerate nonsense.” He does not tolerate it until it is time to pay killers from his own ethnic group. Then suddenly, all the nonsense in the world is tolerated, rationalized, and bankrolled.
THE RECORD OF NEGLECT
The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) has repeatedly documented how Elrufai treated Kaduna as two states: one deserving of investment, another of abandonment. The disparity in projects is obvious to anyone who travels across the state. Infrastructure and educational institutions sprouted in the north, while Southern Kaduna languished in neglect.
Appointments told an even starker story. In 2016, Elrufai himself claimed that Southern Kaduna made up 30% of the state’s population. Yet records show that less than 5% of his appointments went to Southern Kaduna indigenes, while over 95% went north. Is this governance by fairness, as he alleged?
Without credible census data, Elrufai repeatedly downplayed Southern Kaduna’s population. Why the obsession with diminishing the numbers of other ethnic groups? Could it be linked to longstanding accusations from Gbagyi and Adara communities—that he imported Fulani settlers, counted them as natives, and elevated them into emirates? His years in power increasingly look like a strategy to decimate, replace, and repopulate.
THE HISTORICAL AMNESIA
In his interview, Elrufai sneered at a delegation from Southern Kaduna who allegedly demanded “50%.” He asked, “On what basis?” Only someone steeped in selective memory would ask such a question.
Southern Kaduna’s history is no secret. From the colonial era, their people were forcibly attached to the Zazzau Emirate, denied the right to appoint their own chiefs, and subjected to land grabs. The Zangon Kataf crisis itself was ignited by the entitlement of settlers who resisted a simple market relocation.
In 1999, Governor Ahmed Makarfi tried to reverse decades of marginalization by granting autonomy to Southern Kaduna communities. Elrufai reversed those gains, dragging them back to pre–Fourth Republic subjugation.
So when he asks on what basis Southern Kaduna demands equity, the answer is simple: history, justice, and the undeniable truth that they are not second-class citizens in their own land.
HYPOCRISY ON TERRORISM
Perhaps the most galling contradiction is Elrufai’s shifting rhetoric on terrorism. During Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, he loudly accused the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Jonathan himself of sponsoring Boko Haram. Those claims were not only false—they were dangerous, inciting, and divisive. To this day, Elrufai has never provided evidence. Why should anyone with a sound mind believe him now?
While governor, he admitted on video that most cattle rustling was committed by Fulani people. Yet reprisals were consistently directed against Southern Kaduna communities. Why was it easier for him to pay killers than to protect victims? Why compensate attackers instead of handing intelligence over to law enforcement, as any rational governor would?
He insists that violence is not a tool for negotiation—except when it is Fulani violence. Then it becomes a bargaining chip, one worth paying for with public funds.
THE MANUFACTURED EQUALITY
Elrufai now speaks of balancing senatorial districts and ensuring equality. But what equality is possible when communities accuse him of manipulating demography in parts of Central Kaduna?
Anyone can import settlers, grant them traditional stools, and then point to “balance” as proof of fairness. Behind his arrogance and half-baked responses lies a deliberate deception. The South may appear taken in, but only because they have not studied the history of Kaduna. If they did, every one of Elrufai’s answers would make them recoil in disgust.
Equality cannot be built on the ashes of displacement.
SOKAPU has been consistent: Elrufai’s Kaduna was not one state, but two. One governed with care, the other with disdain. One invested in, the other neglected. One protected, the other left to bleed.
THE QUESTIONS HE MUST ANSWER
The Channels TV interview was a missed opportunity. Seun’s questions skimmed the surface, allowing Elrufai to pontificate without challenge. Here are the questions he must still answer:
•Did you not effectively admit culpability in the Agwom Adara’s death by boasting you “dealt with” Southern Kaduna leaders?
•Where is your evidence of the $20,000 medical bribes after eight years in power?
•Why the obsession with the population of Southern Kaduna without credible census reports?
•The 2006 census put Southern Kaduna at 51.2%. What happened to that population that you now claim is below 25%?
•You previously stated Southern Kaduna was 30%. Why did they receive less than 5% of appointments if you admitted that figure yourself?
•Why did you pay Fulani terrorists from state coffers despite saying you do not tolerate nonsense?
•Why did you accuse Jonathan and CAN of sponsoring Boko Haram without proof?
Until Elrufai confronts these questions with honesty, every appearance he makes will be less about truth and more about propaganda. For Southern Kaduna, the scars of his governance remain raw. For Nigeria, his words are a cautionary tale about leaders who rewrite history even before the ink dries.
Elrufai says he tolerates no nonsense. History records otherwise: he tolerated, excused, and even rewarded it.
