We met at a cosy apartment in West London, having spoken in the morning and agreed to a chat about his decision to return home to Nigeria. On arrival, we reminisced over some things that happened in the past and our previous encounters, and then we sat down for an interview that I can only describe as candid, sincere, and truly no-holds-barred. I was allowed to ask any question I wanted and I had a promise that I will get a sincere answer.
Nasir El-Rufai has been on exile, but the time spent abroad seem to have done him some good as he looked fresh, calm and seemingly overflowing with energy and passion to implement change. The first question I asked was why he has chosen this weekend in April to return to Nigeria. Mr. El-Rufai explained that he had planned to return to Nigeria in December of 2009, but friends and family prevailed upon him not to return because of the ill-health of president Umaru Yar’Adua and the whole fall out was described as not being a conducive time.
It was also conjectured that with the threat to his life in the past, and the chaotic state of the national polity at that time, no one would be held responsible if anything happened to him and in fact, devious people might take advantage of the situation to wreak havoc and get away with it.
As he talked, my ears were listening and my eyes were taking in the body language of a man who now seems to exude the confidence of a successful matador, one with wisdom and understanding about the best time to strike. Mr EL-Rufai expressed his disappointment and disgust at the way Nigeria has been run down and on the verge of becoming a failed country.
He stated that there is no better time than now to return to his beloved country after he has been forced into exile by people he loved, respected, campaigned and put himself on the line for. He told me that the only passport he has is Green and it’s Nigerian. He has never contemplated or given a thought to seeking asylum anywhere in the world or desired citizenship of any other country, especially considering the fact that it would have been easy to do that.
I quizzed him about the people he loved and campaigned for, who drove him into exile, and I saw a change on his face as a frown formed, with what I could only read as deep-seated hurt in his eyes. Mr EL-Rufai said he was hurt and disappointed by the fact that he campaigned and supported Mr. Yar’adua and till today could not understand how the man could turn against him. He believed that the people after his life were agents of the president and he could not find a tenable reason for the assumption that he was any threat to the man.
Mr. El-Rufai did not mince words in declaring that he is sad that he made the mistake of believing Mr. Yar’Adua could do Nigeria some good as President. I asked him if he feels guilty for the failure of this regime and whether the likes of former president Olusegun Obasanjo share the feeling of guilt. He said he feels partly responsible for the disappointing failure of the current regime as someone that campaigned and drove the agenda of seeing the Mr Yar’Adua become president. He said he believes Mr. Obasanjo feels the same sense of responsibility, but quickly added that every Nigerian that has failed to fight against Mr. Yar’Adua’s embarrassing government should also be held responsible for the state of the nation.
I pointed out that there were allegations that the PDP rigged the election anyway, and Mr El-Rufai’s quick answer was, Yes, no doubt the election was rigged and every political party tried to rig the election in 2007, but PDP was more successful; though he still believes that even if the election had been free and fair, PDP would still have won because of the wider spread and the financial muscle of the party.
I listened as he philosophized, quoting Plato, “those who are too smart to engage in politics are governed by those who are dumber”. Then he dropped all subtleties and declared that a large number of people in government in Nigeria today are failing not just because they are dumb with no plan to better the lot of Nigerians but also because a sizable number of them are criminals out to milk the nation dry.
As I asked more probing questions, he became even more combative, alleging that there is no explanation for the kind of criminals governing Nigeria to remain in office, and his decision to return to the country is to ensure he makes life uncomfortable for them as well as ensure they do not get re-elected in 2011.
How will you do this, I asked Mr El-Rufai, and his response was detailed as he revealed a clear strategy of education and enlightenment of young Nigerians with a view to inspire them to take their future and that of the nation in their hands. Mr El-Rufai believes that if young Nigerians can be galvanised to start the revolution that will change the nation, the impact on the nation will be massive.
He express a conviction that politicians and those who control power and government in Nigeria at the moment are old and a core group of them can be described as a the group of ’66 because they have all been recycled in one form or the other from 1966 and still have a strangle hold on how the nation is governed. They have robbed and ruined the nation and should no longer be allowed to hold sway on how the nation progresses from here on.
I asked Mr. El-Rufai a pointed question on his political ambition, and the response was that he wanted to see a groundswell created that will lead to a wholesale change in the quality of people elected in 2011. He intends to hit the ground running by empowering and inspiring young Nigerians to change the course and direction of the nation. He is working in alliance with a group that will make this become reality and they are in alliance with other civil groups that have teams around the country to implement the change.
I was not satisfied with his response and I asked him whether he will be interested in becoming the next President of Nigeria, and that brought out the first sign of elusive or evasive response throughout our entire conversation. He would not say no, consistently insisting that there are better candidates that he will be looking to support. When asked to mention names, he expressed belief that someone of the calibre of Nuhu Ribadu, the erstwhile chief of EFCC will be a fantastic candidate. Since Mr. Ribadu is a close friend of his, I asked him if they have discussed it and Mr Ribadu is interested in the position, Mr El-Rufai said Mr. Ribadu is yet to take any such decision.
I probed him again on why he would not say yes or no, he stated that his stance is that Nigeria deserves the best President to turn things around. He believes that in a nation of about 150 million people there will surely be quite a few that are better than him, and since he is working with a team of people that are extremely competent and experienced, he expects the emergence of a leader that will be worth supporting in the weeks to come.
Mr El-Rufai was very clear on the need to have a complete change so that the nation can have a fresh new start in 2010. He believes that the young people of Nigeria can make that happen so that the “criminals and thieves” in high places will be swept out of government for new men and women of character and integrity to take the rein of power. He said the change should impact the states and national assembly, especially the senate and house of representatives.
He could not find any reason why men and women in the senate and House of Representative who are paid millions of Naira annually will continue to fail the nation the way they do now by not delivering legislation that will move the country forward. He expressed sadness at the number of people found to have committed one crime or the other and yet have been allowed to contest and win elections. He wondered why Nigerians expect anything good to come out from criminals, thieves and fraudsters who have forged documents and committed crimes not only in the country but also abroad.
He said we deserved the government we have because we have failed to act and take civil action against the people in government, but now is the time to move against them so that we turn the country around into a nation we can be proud of.
Before we wrapped up the conversation, I raised the issue of allegations of corruption against him; his response was short and sharp; that all the allegations were false and designed to malign his person and track record in public service. He emphasized that he has never committed any fraud while in service, never taken any bribe and never abused or misuse his powers while in office. He did concede that he approved a land application from his wife - then he asked a rhetorical question, whether anyone will refuse any Nigerian their rights when they have applied and followed due process, only because the person is their wife? He said his wife applied like any other Nigerian, followed due process and met all requirements, so there was no basis to reject her application.