Nigeria facing existential crisis, El-Rufai warns

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Says country’s future hangs in balance From Desmond Mgboh, KanoMallam Nasiru El-Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State, was in Kano this week and had a chance interview with the media. He warned that Nigeria is in an existential crisis and faces the risk collapse if current economic and security crisis continues. He expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s worsening state, saying that it is unlike anything he has seen in the 65 years of his life.



He criticised godfatherism and lack of internal democracy as some of the major problems in Nigerian politics, and said that his new party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) will be free from the control of one individual, unlike the APC, which he said has been “pocketed by one or two people.” googletag.cmd.

push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1718806029429-0'); }); Excerpt:My mission in KanoOne of the reasons why I came to Kano is to sit with the party leaders of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and brainstorm with them on how to build a party from the ground up. $(document).

ready(function(){(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({})}); Since I joined the SDP, there has been some level of excitement in the party about me with many people wanting to join the movement, and Kano, of course, is the most important state in Nigeria electorally.

Kano doesn’t have the highest number of registered voters, but it has the highest number of people that actually come out to vote. Lagos has more registered voters, but Lagosians don’t vote. Kano people vote, and that’s why any serious politician will take Kano with a certain degree of focus.

Our chapter in Kano has excellent, quality leadership, but we still need to build the party. And it is part of my responsibility as a senior member of the party now, a member of the National Executive Committee of the party, to help in that regard.On the present coalition talks with political parties, groupsAbout 12 years ago, we came together and formed the APC – three major political parties and two or three factions of existing political parties.

That was the model then. And it worked. We defeated an incumbent that wanted to remain in office for his second term.

Going forward, 12 years after, a lot has changed in Nigeria. But what we have been trying to do, and I’ve spent the last few months of my time working on, is to try to bring all the political opposition groups under one roof. We’re not trying to bring political parties under one roof.

It is not a merger of political parties. We’ve been through that before and we know how long it took. But look at it this way, there are members of the PDP that have been ousted out of the party.

There are members of the APC that are equally sidelined in the party. And then, there are other smaller political parties that contested the last election, did very badly or did very well, and our objective is to get these different groups to agree to come under one existing political party.One of the reasons why I joined the SDP is because we have undertaken a detailed evaluation of the nine or 10 political parties that will qualify to exist after INEC does its review of political parties.

As you know, the amendment to the Constitution and the Electoral Act now empowers INEC to deregister any political party that does not have a member of the State House of Assembly. To qualify to continue to exist as a political party, you must have a member of the State House of Assembly elected. So there are about nine or 10 political parties that, based on this, would soon be deregistered.

So we looked at the ones that cannot be deregistered and evaluated them using very objective criteria, and we came to the conclusion that the SDP was the best of them. It was top-ranked but, of course, it needs to be built. Party formation is easy.

You can get the INEC certificate, but then you have to work hard to register members and do congresses and have leadership structures from the polling unit to local government to state and national. That is the process of party building. It’s difficult work.

It takes time, resources, energy, and logistics. I believe very strongly that the SDP provides the potential to recreate a major political party. But with the support of some of the opposition groups – we will not get all.

But most importantly, the people of Nigeria need a credible alternative. I use the phrase “credible alternative” very carefully because PDP has run the country for 16 years. Nigerians know what it is, even though it’s a long time and many may have forgotten.

APC has run the country for 10 years and most people want something different.I believe that the SDP can be the party that gives that alternative to Nigerians, a party that is not controlled by anyone, that is not pocketed by anyone, a party that will provide a level playing field to any person who wants to aspire for leadership, either in the party or in the government. What has destroyed political parties in Nigeria is lack of internal democracy and godfatherism.

We want to eliminate that in the SDP. The APC started well but has ended up being pocketed by one or two people. We want to avoid that.

So we want a party that no one owns or controls, and the SDP has that pedigree and history. If all the major opposition groups go into that party as equal partners and invite Nigerians that want real change to join the party, and we have different rules of engagement, no godfathers, no impositions, competition for every position, I think we will give Nigerians an opportunity to join a party that they can claim is their own, not somebody’s own. $(document).

ready(function(){(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({})}); I want to make it very clear, right from the beginning of this journey; our conception was not to have SDP merge with PDP or any party.

PDP as a party is a spent force. It has been targeted for destruction and it has almost succeeded. The APC has been pocketed.

So we are not looking at that. We are not looking at political parties that crises have already ravaged. We are looking for something new, something fresh that we can offer to Nigerians as a credible alternative.

And when they look at the faces that are there, they will say, yeah, maybe there is a chance that this will be different. We are trying to offer Nigerians and Nigerian voters an alternative. A governor has only one vote.

Nigerians have many more votes than one governor or 36 governors. It doesn’t matter if you collect 36 governors; if the people of Nigeria say we are not with you, it’s over.The president had a sitting governor and he lost Lagos.

So what is the value of a governor? I was the governor of Kaduna state. I fought hard to deliver the president in my state, but I lost. Governors don’t determine election results.

The people do. This is what many Nigerians forget. We want the SDP to remind them of that.

So that’s our story. I am the first to join with some members of my group, but there are other groups and we are still talking. And I believe that they are on their way.

It’s not over until it is over.On the position of SDP in regards to power rotation in 2027The SDP is not at the stage of looking or shopping for any candidates. We are not looking for candidates now.

We are looking for committed party members who are ready to work and build the party. We are at the stage of party building, so we have not discussed that. The SDP is still open for more groups to come in, including others that have presidential aspirations.

So until we have everyone at the table, that discussion cannot even take place. It is premature to discuss it. I know that there are groups that are centered on the presidential aspirations of some people.

But what we told all of them is, please put aside your aspirations, come into the party. As an equal member, let’s build the party first. It is when Nigerians see that this is a credible alternative, that this is a party that can actually win elections, that the issue of candidates can come in.

So we are not looking for candidates. We are not looking for people with ambitions. We are looking for members at this point.

Of course, people with ambitions have their own people. They come with thousands, hundreds and thousands of people. That’s what we are looking for, but not to start discussing their ambitions yet.

However, if and when all the opposition groups move into the SDP, that discussion will certainly take place. I can’t tell you the direction of the discussion. I can only give you my own opinion.

I can do so because with all sense of responsibility, if there is one person that stood up and organised the northern APC governors to say power must go to the south, I am identified as one. Whether you like me or not, you have to say that we did that and we are proud of what we did. However, for me, where we are in Nigeria now is not about that.

This country is facing an existential crisis. We may not have a country for you to contest for president if we continue the way we are going or if things get worse. So for me, I don’t care where the person comes from.

But I want a candidate and a ticket that will do two things: that will offer solutions to Nigeria’s problems. Number two, who will excite Nigerians enough to come out and vote and defeat the APC government that is taking Nigeria backwards. So I don’t care if that person is you or anyone, I will support it.

I don’t care. I can say it because we championed power shift. But where did the power shift take us? Should we stick to that even though the whole country is falling apart and things are not going well and the people in government are not listening and everyone is struggling other than those in government? I will no longer stand for the “president-must-come-from-here” syndrome.

I want to see a president that will address the basic existential problems of our country and that of ordinary people. That’s what I want to see. $(document).

ready(function(){(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({})}); On the defection of high-profile politicians to APCThe SDP is concerned with finding solutions to Nigeria’s problems and giving opportunity to those that the godfather type of party politics has totally sidelined and excluded.

What we want to do is to give every Nigerian interested in politics and leadership equal opportunity to show that he can do better than what we have. Because clearly what we have is not good enough.Every Nigerian agrees that what we have now is not good enough.

There are many talented Nigerians out there that don’t even want to think about going into politics or public service because they think that you need to have a Godfather or you need to have tons of money or you need to do this. We want to remove all those constraints and unleash the energy of Nigeria, the competitive energy of Nigerians to bring their best into politics and public service. This is our goal.

As far as I’m concerned, the defection of high-profile politicians is not the issue. The issue is who can solve the problem of Nigerians and communicate it to them such that on election day they will be motivated to come out and vote for that person. These high-level defections are widely exaggerated.

It is good for headlines. It is good to sell your media. But on the ground politically, if you don’t have the people, you can have as high a profile as possible, you are nothing.

We want to return politics to the people, not to godfathers, not to high-profile politicians. We want to return politics and political decision-making to the people that have the vote. That’s the objective of the SDP.

On the limited spread of the opposition groups discussing with the SDPThere are about five groups that are involved in this conversation. All the people involved in this conversation are members of one political party or another. There are people from all the parties.

The whole idea is can we agree to all be in one political party? Within the framework of that political party, those that have aspirations and ambitions can pursue them based on agreed rules. That conversation is still going on. It’s not concluded.

I had to make the decision to join the SDP based on my analysis of my group and because of the local circumstances of Kaduna. We all know what is happening in Kaduna and many of our people have been totally sidelined and excluded. The person sitting on my right was the first elected state Secretary of the APC.

He was the first elected Secretary. He was suspended from his party. A party that he formed by guys that benefited from his hard work.

Many like him in Kaduna have become partyless. As their leader, it is my duty to find a platform for them so they can have the opportunity to advance their aspirations. I have done two terms as governor.

There is nothing for me left in Kaduna. There are others that have aspirations. It is my duty to provide a framework for them to contest.

We sat and debated and discussed and evaluated all the political parties. While this discussion is going on, my people said we must take a decision to have a party. We cannot be partyless in Kaduna, that is why I went ahead.

I did not go ahead without informing all the other coalition groups of my peculiar circumstances and that of my group.On the impression that SDP is northern in outlook $(document).ready(function(){(adsbygoogle = window.

adsbygoogle || []).push({})}); You are only seeing the faces in northern Nigeria because you are here. I am in Kano today.

On Thursday, I will be in the East. I will be meeting with SDP leaders and potential SDP entrants in a number of states. Some of the neighboring south-south states will be there.

They will come to meet with me and so on. This movement is national. The excitement and the social media presence is more northern than southern.

In Lagos last week, we met with leaders. We don’t publicize. I was shocked when I was told I was meeting with the media.

I don’t usually meet with media when I go to places. We are building a party and it is not for publicity. It is guerrilla warfare.

I assure you this party is everywhere. We made an attempt in 2013 to form an amalgamation of political parties. Everyone said it was impossible.

We did it. We are at the center of it again. We know how it was done.

Did it meet our aspirations? No. I was not satisfied with what we achieved vis-à-vis what we aspired to. Lessons are learned.

If people think that I and others like me are doing this because we are sidelined, continue with the current situation. It is fine.I am 65 and I am supposed to have retired.

I can go to Egypt and live there. I will not lose anything. I am only doing this because I feel I still have some years of active life.

I can bring people together to try again to make Nigeria better. That is what I have done all my life. I have not succeeded all the time but it is a work in progress.

Nation building is not something you do overnight. You try, sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail, but you never give up. If the people of Nigeria say we don’t want it, we like things the way they are, it is okay.

This is for Nigerians to decide. Are you better off now than you were on May 29, 2023? If you are not, let’s talk and find solutions. It is not about me.

Nigeria has done everything for me. I don’t need anything from Nigeria. I can go back to school and close down.

I am not mobilizing against the present administration. It is about Nigeria’s economic and social conditions. Are you happy with the current situation? If you are not, let’s work together to find solutions.

But if you are happy, it is okay. Go ahead and do a mental check. This very trivialization of very serious threats to the existence of Nigeria.

I am 65 years old. I am as old as Nigeria. I have never felt so scared about the situation of Nigeria and the future of Nigeria.

On why now? Why not previously when the going was fine?I was a founder of APC. When I felt Buhari was going in the wrong direction, did I not write to him? Why didn’t you ask why then? I was in the government. I was a governor when I wrote to him and said things were not going well.

The letter was made public despite being a private letter. I wrote the letter in September 2016 and it was leaked in March 2017. It is not about one being against the government.

For Nigeria, I am against anybody if Nigeria’s interest is threatened. Even if that person is my father, I will take him out because Nigeria is more important than that relationship. I am a loyal member of APC.

I am very close to Buhari. When they did the currency redesign, I led governors to take him to court. Do you think that was easy? Was Buhari an opposition? We did what we felt was in the best interest of the people of Nigeria.

Some of us stand for only that. We don’t have any permanent friends or enemies other than the friends and enemies of Nigeria. It is not about me.

My father died when I was eight. Nigeria gave me a good education. I went to university and got educated.

I can face anyone anywhere in the world with confidence because of what Nigeria did for me. I want that opportunity for every young Nigerian. It doesn’t exist now.

This is what some of us are fighting for. If you say it is because of this or that, I can say thank you.On his visit to seek former President Buhari before exiting from APCI’m an accomplished man and I don’t need anybody’s blessing to do anything in my life.

Even when I was half this age, I had a mind of my own. When I went to see President Buhari, it was not to seek his blessing. At my age, I can decide what is good for me.

In fact, I advise others about their lives. But President Buhari is somebody that I have a special bond with and there is no major decision I have taken in my life since we met that I don’t go and either get his advice, where I’m not sure, or inform him before I announce. I will never surprise President Buhari.

It would be disrespectful of me for him to hear that I have left the APC without telling him. I went to tell him, and this is what I said. But some media people, maybe they have a comprehension problem of the English language, said that I got Buhari’s approval.

I don’t need anybody’s approval to exercise my constitutional rights of free association. $(document).ready(function(){(adsbygoogle = window.

adsbygoogle || []).push({})}); I went to Bisi Akande, the first chairman of the APC. I also saw Adams Oshiomhole, I saw John Oyegun, I saw Abdullahi Adamu.

I asked them, what’s happening in this party? Is there something that I don’t know? Because if there isn’t, it’s a matter of time I will leave. I told all these people. I went to Lagos and saw Pastor Tunde Bakare and told him the same thing.

Because these are people that were involved in the formation and the administration of the APC. And we worked hard together to build this party until it changed to something else. So I felt I had to go to them and first get from them, look, is there something that I don’t understand? Because they are all older than me and more experienced and one must be ready and have an open mind to learn.

So I asked them, okay, what’s going on? If they agreed with me that what I’m seeing is what they are seeing, then it means that I have every reason to find my own way.There are some discussions I’ve had with President Buhari that I will take to my grave and he will take to his. It is the way we are, it’s how close we are.

But that’s it. I went to inform him that I will be leaving the APC any moment from now so that he will not be surprised. If you know me, once I’m decided on the course of action, I work on it until I drop dead.

On how to address the enormous challenges facing Nigeria todayWe will roll them out at the right time. We don’t want to give exam leakage to President Tinubu, but I want to assure you that unlike other political groupings that spend 90 percent of their time on the political arithmetic of how to grab power, the groups that we are discussing with will spend half of the time looking at how to solve these problems. For instance, if the election is over and the next day you’re sworn in, we are concerned with what you are going to do as governor or president, what are you going to do about the exchange rate? No economy survives on interest rate of 30-something percent.

What are you going to do? What are you going to do about food security? What are you going to do about insecurity? Why have Boko Haram, Iswap, and bandits eluded the Nigerian security apparatus? What are we going to do? So by the time the SDP gets organized and publishes its blueprint, we will give Nigerians specific solutions with timelines about what we are going to do if elected and when elected.The post Nigeria facing existential crisis, El-Rufai warns appeared first on The Sun Nigeria..