Nasir El-Rufai: A nation builder or a pretender

My June 23, 2022, article, “Is El-Rufai Among the Prophets?” generated intense reactions. Many readers assumed I was eulogising the “wise Shortman”, the former governor of Kaduna State. That was never my intent. My interest has always been leadership – its courage, its contradictions, and its consequences.

Few Nigerian politicians have inspired as much admiration and criticism as Nasir El-Rufai. My admiration for him stemmed from his bold reformism from the moment he emerged, almost accidentally, onto the national stage as a public servant.

He began by enforcing the master plan for the Federal Capital Territory with uncommon audacity, stepping on powerful toes in the process. That period defined him as a technocrat willing to confront entrenched interests.

As governor of Kaduna State, he sustained that reputation. He disengaged over 23,000 public school teachers after competency assessments in his first term, a politically dangerous move for any governor seeking re-election. It was a rare display of reformist courage in a political environment where second-term calculations often dilute first-term conviction.

He spoke forcefully against the Almajiri system. He supported resource control by states. Most significantly, he insisted that political power should rotate to the South after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, in the interest of equity and national balance. In a country as plural and sensitive as Nigeria, that position suggested statesmanship beyond sectional loyalty.

At that time, one could reasonably conclude that El-Rufai embodied the attributes of a nation-builder: brilliant, decisive, and unapologetically reformist.

Yet leadership is not judged by reformist audacity alone. It is measured by inclusiveness, fairness, and the management of diversity.

“Yet leadership is not judged by reformist audacity alone. It is measured by inclusiveness, fairness, and the management of diversity.”

Recent revelations by the Kaduna State House of Assembly concerning alleged fiscal improprieties during his tenure have raised troubling questions. The details and legal outcomes will unfold in due course, but the optics have already complicated the narrative of a man once seen as distinct from the conventional northern political establishment.

El-Rufai appears different in power and in opposition. In power, he projected technocratic firmness. Outside power, fissures in style and temperament are more exposed. This duality has prompted a more difficult question: is the reformist instinct anchored in institutional strengthening or in personal conviction untethered from consensus?

Religious policy during his administration further complicated perceptions. His decision to suspend state sponsorship of pilgrimages was, in principle, defensible on fiscal grounds. Public funds should prioritise development over religious tourism, whether to Mecca or Jerusalem. A secular state must treat all faiths equitably.

However, subsequent reports suggesting that Muslim pilgrimages were sponsored during parts of his tenure while Christian pilgrimages were suspended have fuelled allegations of selective application. In a fragile society like Nigeria, perception is often as powerful as policy. Leadership demands not only fairness but also demonstrable fairness.

Nigeria’s stability rests on delicate interfaith trust. Any action, intentional or otherwise, that appears to tilt governance along religious lines risks deepening existing fault lines. Reform without inclusion breeds suspicion. Discipline without empathy breeds alienation.

The paradox of Nasir el-Rufai is clear: he has demonstrated capacity for institutional disruption, yet disruption without broad social consensus can fracture cohesion. Courage is essential in leadership. But so is integrative sensitivity.

The dismissal of underperforming teachers reflected boldness. Advocacy for power rotation reflected political awareness. But national leadership requires an even higher threshold – the ability to unify across identities while reforming institutions.

History will judge El-Rufai not merely by the schools he restructured or the political alignments he influenced, but also by whether his leadership strengthened national cohesion or intensified division.

The real test of nation-building is not disruption alone. It is whether, after the disruption, the nation stands more united than before.

Nigeria does not merely need strong leaders. It needs integrative leaders – reformers who are also bridge-builders. Courage is indispensable. But in a plural society, empathy is non-negotiable.

 

Babs Olugbemi, FCCA, is the Chief Vision Officer at Mentoras Leadership Limited and the founder of Positive Growth Africa. He can be reached at [email protected] or 07064176953 or on Twitter @SuccessBabs.