Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide, has strongly criticized Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, over recent comments he made that, according to Omokri, appear to be inciting a coup in Nigeria. In a post on social media platform X, Omokri accused El-Rufai of making “coup-baiting” statements that he deemed irresponsible and treasonous, particularly given the former governor’s controversial track record.
Omokri’s condemnation came after El-Rufai’s remarks on the state of Nigerian governance. El-Rufai had said, “For those of us who lived half our lives under military rule, we know what it is. We don’t want military rule, but we also don’t want civilians behaving like the military in their babbar riga and suits.” His comments were directed at the current government of President Bola Tinubu, which El-Rufai implied was exhibiting authoritarian tendencies, resembling a military dictatorship.
Omokri, however, strongly disagreed with El-Rufai’s assessment of the Tinubu administration. “I read with dismay the coup-baiting comments by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai,” Omokri wrote. “Not only is it irresponsible for any politician to bait the military to take over because they lost out in this administration, but it is also treasonous, especially when such comments are being made by a man who was himself a danger to democracy while he held sway in Kaduna.”
According to Omokri, El-Rufai’s history in office casts a long shadow on his credibility. He reminded Nigerians of the time when El-Rufai, as Governor of Kaduna, took harsh measures against his critics, including demolishing their homes. “Under Nasir el-Rufai as Governor of Kaduna, the homes of his critics were demolished. Several of them were arrested and jailed, including Audu Maikori, who was forced into exile by Nasir el-Rufai,” Omokri stated. He further accused El-Rufai of paying herdsmen, a practice that Omokri claims led to a significant increase in violence in the southern part of the state.
Omokri continued to accuse El-Rufai of stoking ethnic and religious conflict, saying, “His reign marked the beginning of mass killings on an industrial scale in Southern Kaduna, which have now ended after he left office.” He questioned how El-Rufai, who had been involved in such controversial actions, could now accuse the Tinubu administration of behaving like a military dictatorship.
The former presidential aide also brought attention to El-Rufai’s past threats against foreign election observers during the 2015 elections. “This is a man who threatened foreign election observers that they would leave Nigeria in ‘body bags’,” Omokri said. “And today, he is accusing the Tinubu administration of acting like a military government?” Omokri implied that El-Rufai’s comments were self-serving and that the former governor was attempting to rewrite history to suit his current political goals.
In his post, Omokri suggested that El-Rufai was taking advantage of Nigeria’s short memory to downplay his own political misdeeds. “Yes, he is counting on the fact that Nigerians have short memories and may not remember his misdeeds,” Omokri stated. The comments were part of a broader critique of El-Rufai’s political career, which Omokri portrayed as full of contradictions and opportunism.
On the same day that El-Rufai made his comments, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate from the Labour Party, also made headlines with a statement about his political intentions. Obi stated that he was not interested in “any coalition that is for the purpose of taking power.” Omokri highlighted the coincidence of the timing, speculating that Obi’s statement was a reaction to El-Rufai’s comments and a sign of deeper political machinations. “Why did Peter Obi choose to make that statement on the same day that those men met?” Omokri asked, further fueling suspicions of political intrigue.
According to Omokri, Peter Obi and Nasir El-Rufai share a complex history, particularly regarding their political ambitions. Omokri reflected on an incident in 2010 when El-Rufai, who was once a critic of former President Goodluck Jonathan, sought to align himself with Jonathan’s administration after a meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa. “Nasir el-Rufai met President Jonathan at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, and began praising Dr. Jonathan after that meeting and urging the then-acting President to contest the 2011 Presidential election because he thought he would be named vice president by President Jonathan,” Omokri recalled.
However, Omokri noted that when Jonathan ultimately selected Namadi Sambo as his vice-presidential nominee instead of El-Rufai, the former governor quickly turned against him. “Four days later, on May 15, 2010, when then-President Jonathan named Namadi Sambo the vice-presidential nominee instead of him, Nasir el-Rufai began fighting him,” Omokri pointed out, emphasizing El-Rufai’s history of political opportunism and betrayal.
The shifting political allegiances of El-Rufai, according to Omokri, are reflective of his broader approach to Nigerian politics. Omokri accused El-Rufai of joining forces with General Muhammadu Buhari after initially opposing him, a move that he believes was driven by personal ambition rather than principle. “The same Nasir el-Rufai, who had the previous year insisted General Buhari and said, ‘General Buhari has remained perpetually unelectable because his record as military head of state, and afterwards, is a warning that many Nigerians have wisely heeded’, suddenly joined General Buhari and became his mouthpiece to fight the Jonathan administration,” Omokri stated.
Now, according to Omokri, El-Rufai is once again turning against the current administration, this time after being sidelined by President Bola Tinubu. “After having been snubbed by this administration, el-Rufai is up to his old antics,” Omokri asserted. He suggested that El-Rufai’s latest comments were an attempt to regain political relevance, particularly after his failure to secure a ministerial appointment in the current government.
In closing, Omokri called on Nigerians to reject any notion of a military coup and reminded them of El-Rufai’s checkered past. “I call on Nigerians to remind Nasir el-Rufai of his diabolical history and tell him they would not stand for a military coup because he lost out on becoming a minister,” Omokri urged, signaling his strong opposition to any efforts to destabilize the country’s democracy.
