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By Reuben Buhari
In 2015, many residents of Kaduna state made a choice of voting Governor Nasiru El-Rufai into office with the hope that he was going to improve their lives, instead, he implemented unfavorable policies that had adverse effects on them.
And to the amazement of many people, Governor El-Rufai is aware of these bad policies he made, as he has on two occasions publicly, apologized to the people of Kaduna over it.
To many residents, El-Rufai’s apology is dishonest and part of his political gimmick, saying that, from his antecedents, he is likely to implement many of such terrible policies before leaving office in a few months.
On Thursday, 24th November, 2022, at the inauguration of the APC gubernatorial campaign council, Governor El-Rufai sought the forgiveness of the people of Kaduna state over the bad policies he made. He further pleaded with the residents of Kaduna not to punish the APC by not voting for the party in the forthcoming general elections.
On the surface, this apology might look noble, but probably, Governor El-Rufai has not heard of the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin, who admonished people not to ruin an apology with an excuse. So in essence, his apology, apart from being made in a political gathering to suit itching ears, is bereft of honesty and sincerity.
It will be correct to say that, his apology followed by an excuse means that the same deliberate act could be repeated again, especially coming at a time when it lacks substance and it’s offensive in context.
More disingenuous is his attempt to separate his insensitive and intolerant mode of governance from his anointed candidate, Senator Uba Sani in 2023. He is simply repudiating the known democratic principles of governance as a continuous process. So sad!
To cap it all, El-Rufai had some time ago in a media chat announced that his successor, Uba Sani will be worse than him in governing the state. This message is enough for residents to make the right decision to avert continuation of Governor El-Rufai’s harsh policies and governance.
El-Rufai cannot deliberately and recklessly create hardship for the people of Kaduna state for eight years and assume that he can conveniently utter a political apology at the twilight of his tenure.
At what point did he think an apology was appropriate? Was his apology targeted at those he sacked from work without paying them their entitlements? Or those whose homes and businesses were demolished on the altar of aestheticism?
Was his political apology targeted at the lives of millions of Kaduna people that he endangered when he made reckless and boastful statements on insecurity?
Can it be said to be targeted at the millions of Kaduna people who today, can’t go to their farms or even stay at their homes because of the pervasive insecurity in almost all parts of the state? Was his apology aimed at the bastardization of the state’s civil service, or his naked intolerance to those who dared to oppose him?
He can apologize severally before he leaves, but it won’t change the fact that his meaningless apology won’t revert the hardship and pains he brought to the people of Kaduna State. It rankles more that this apology came without restitution which smacks of only a cosmetic act without substance.
Also, El-Rufai’s attempt to distance himself from his selected gubernatorial candidate of the APC is like a crude attempt to separate conjoined twins, they are one and the same. The people of Kaduna should be on alert because the anointed candidate would definitely exceed his annointer.
This is a wakeup call to all Kaduna people, they must vote out the APC and El-Rufai’s anointed candidate at the polls.
Reuben Buhari is writing from Kaduna.