2027: Why El-Rufai is crying foul, by Musa Asiru Bakare

In a recent interview on Arise Television, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the former Governor of Kaduna State, launched yet another episode of self-promotion disguised as political commentary.

Once respected for his bureaucratic intellect and policy drive, El-Rufai appears to have transitioned fully into the role of a political pundit one who seems increasingly embittered by a mix of vindictive posturing and evolving national political realities.

Throughout the interview, he mentioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s name repeatedly almost obsessively. This odd fixation betrays a deeper grievance, one that likely stems from his exclusion from President Tinubu’s ministerial list. That singular omission seems to remain a thorn in his pride, one he is not prepared to accept with grace.

El-Rufai is no stranger to political melodrama. In the past, he operated under various online aliases to publish controversial opinions and fan public sentiment. Today, the anonymity is gone, but the tactics remain the same self-adulation, political revisionism, and subtle grievances cloaked in intellectual lingo.

His suggestion either directly or by insinuation that he played a pivotal role in President Tinubu’s rise to power is not only exaggerated but demonstrably false. If any endorsements helped galvanize Tinubu’s path to the presidency, it was that of the core team of political foot soldiers. El-Rufai was neither here nor there in the APC’s 2023 presidential project.

Indeed, his political record in Kaduna undercuts any claim to kingmaker status.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) lost all three senatorial seats in Kaduna State.

Ten out of sixteen House of Representatives seats went to the opposition, twelve state assembly seats also flipped to the PDP.

Even the APC gubernatorial candidate backed by El-Rufai failed to win.

Such a woeful electoral record signals not just dwindling influence but a rejection of his political model by his own people.

Yet, rather than reflect, El-Rufai now positions himself as a prophet of a new political coalition, an alternative to the very party he claims to have helped build. Coalition building is however grounded in trust, credibility, and consistency none of which El-Rufai presently inspires.

If El-Rufai is searching for lessons in political resilience, he may look no further than figures like Nyesom Wike, who despite party differences has maintained strategic relevance and electoral dominance through tact, loyalty, and a very intelligent politics.

Mallam El-Rufai must understand that political seasons change. Power is not restored through televised outbursts or revisionist storytelling. His public displays of grievance only confirm what many already suspect: he has not come to terms with a new political reality one in which Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not only President, but clearly his political superior.

It is time for El-Rufai to stop crying foul and start facing the facts.

Musa Asiru Bakare
Member, All Progressives Congress (APC)
Writes from Lokoja, Kogi State