Don’t set Nigeria on fire, APC chieftain tells El-Rufai

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Plateau state, Samuel Kwamkur, on Sunday cautioned former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, not to set Nigeria on fire with his utterances

Kwankur, who is a former National Director of the Christian Association of Nigeria, stated this at a press conference in Jos on Sunday.

He was reacting to statements allegedly credited to the former Kaduna governor in which he allegedly told his audience before handing over to his successor that the Islamic dominance in Kaduna had been successfully replicated in Nigeria and that it shall continue.

El-Rufai, he alleged, equally told his audience that in the course of the electioneering campaigns, when “they”(Christians ) tried to ask questions on why the Muslim/Muslim Ticket, he deceived ‘them’ that it was not for religious dominance when in reality, the tickets both nationally and at the state level were for Islamic dominance.

He alleged that in the video containing the speech which has gone viral on social media, El-Rufai further said that the victory of Bola Tinubu had silenced the Christian Association of Nigeria, adding that he will sustain an Islamic-dominated government for 20 years and unending not only in Kaduna State but in Nigeria at large

But Kwankur, while reacting to El-Rufai’s outburst, expressed disappointment at the utterances of the former governor, noting that the classification of the citizens of his state as ‘them’ versus us’ meant that the former governor cannot be exonerated from “the wanton killings, demolition of houses and places of worship of Christians in Kaduna”.

Kwankur said he was surprised that El-Rufai who was contemplated as one of the qualified persons to be appointed as the Chief of Staff to Mr President or Secretary to the Government of the Federation had turned himself into a “confirmed religious bigot with a hidden agenda to destroy the country using religion”.

He advised El-Rufai not to use his utterances to mislead Nigerians into thinking that President Bola Tinubu’s electoral victory was purposely to islamise Nigeria and nothing else.

The former National Director of CAN said “Ordinarily, I have heard Islamic clerics preach that Tinubu’s Muslim/ Muslim ticket is in furtherance of an Islamisation agenda, and despite that, I am one of those who contributed in discouraging Christians and Nigerians from accepting such as true because I believed in the antecedents and character of His Excellency Ahmed Bola Tinubu but hearing from a political leader like El-Rufai, a close associate of Tinubu and Shettima, an active participant in the campaign who was contemplated as one of the qualified persons to be appointed as the Chief of Staff to Mr President or Secretary to the Government of the Federation confirmed that there is a hidden agenda to be mindful of.

“In the said address, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai spoke like one of the religious bigots that have been working underground to set the nation on fire. Amongst his ill-motivated statements which I can only paraphrase for now, El-Rufai confirmed that he is a leader of the Islamic terrorist group operating in the Sambisa forest albeit disguising himself as a governor in a complex nation like Nigeria”

“Firstly, El-Rufai in his speech, wondered why he should give ‘them’ a deputy governor when most of ‘them’ cannot vote for his party. That he calculated and discovered ‘we’ can win an election without ‘them’ hence why give ‘them’ a deputy? From El-Rufai’s classification of the citizens of his state as ‘them’ versus ‘us’ one needs no angel to tell you that he cannot be exonerated from the wanton killings, demolition of houses and places of worship of Christians in Kaduna. Secondly, Mallam El-Rufai went further to state that Islamic dominance of government in Nigeria will bring peace, Justice and fair play. He assured the gathering that he will sustain an Islamic-dominated government for 20 years and unending.

“The question is: is it only Muslims that voted for Asiwaju? Who voted for Atiku and Peter Obi? I guess it was only Christians! How could a sitting governor, former minister of the Federal Republic and a potential key government appointee be this callous and insensitive? I recall in one of my visits to a friend in Kaduna, he expressed his views about Mallam El-Rufai”s involvement in the killings in Kaduna and I kept arguing that he should be given the benefit of the doubt, but watching El-Rufai address the Muslim Umma, I have no doubt in my mind that Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is one of those behind the unending religious crisis and insecurity in Nigeria.”

Continuing, the former CAN official added “For the record, Christianity does not practice deception as a principle or mode of operation. The Holy Bible admonishes Christians to say the truth at all times. Christians are also taught unconditional love regardless of religion, region and background. In the Christian faith, the Holy Book frowns against religious discrimination and dominance. The definition of Justice, equity and fairness is hinged on providing platforms for the involvement of all regardless of their population, religion and tribe.

“We also believe that God is the giver of life and power; he gives to whoever He wishes and takes it at the time He so wishes. Hence boasting of any sort is an open challenge to God’s sovereignty. Being a member of the Nigeria Interreligious Council (NIREC), I have closely interfaced with respected Islamic leaders of high repute and found out that there are Muslim leaders, unlike Mallam El-Rufai who are deeply concerned about the peace, development, and growth of Nigeria without pretense.

“Truly speaking El-Rufai is a setback to the peace process that NIREC has been battling with in the midst of religious upheavals. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has exhibited blatant misuse of the trust that God gave him and confirmed that he is an extremist who has largely contributed to the pains of the very people he took an oath to protect in the guise of working for his religion.”

He urged the former governor to use the NIREC platform tom promote unity.

“One would expect El-Rufai to take advantage of such meetings to discuss the achievements of his government in developing the state and taking his people out of poverty and insecurity but ney! He wants to be celebrated as a religious hero and a Jihadist of high repute. How can our nation grow with this kind of leader in authority? Let it be known to all Nigerians that those of us Christians who supported His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu did so out of sincere hope that both himself and his Vice will work to ensure the sustainable development of Nigeria through their policies, experience and exposure.

“It should be known that we did not vote Tinubu out of El-Rufai”s deception (Taqiya) as he claimed! It should be made known to El-Rufai that against his wild imagination of achieving an Islamisation agenda through the dominance and persecution of Christians, Christianity grows better in persecution and supposed dominance. We shall continue to preach inclusiveness, equity and fair play in the true sense of these words. We shall never practice deception to cling to power. No! It is against our faith! May I use this medium to invite Mallam El-Rufai to study the nature of our God in the Book of Esther especially Chapters 6 & 7 where Haman’s plot to end the lives of the Israelites ended up consuming his own life.

“For El-Rufai to think that the Asiwaju vote is a victory for Islam is very unfortunate and speaks volumes of his kind of bigotry. His outburst has destroyed the remaining respect he enjoyed from patriotic Nigerians. We call on Asiwaju to be mindful of friends, associates and politicians like El-Rufai who seek to work with him as they will do more harm to the system and the nation and nothing good can come out of such. May I also use this medium to call on our governors in Nigeria, particularly our Northern governors to truly work towards removing our battered citizens from poverty, insecurity and the like and ensure the provision of good healthcare and other benefits of good governance, rather than to dwell on preaching hate and religious and tribal differences. I call on our leaders to show the citizens the number of people they have empowered instead of the number of lives and property they have destroyed as is happening in Kaduna. I believe that God shall continue to expose the wolves in sheep’s clothing amongst Nigerians”