Minister of Defence Christopher Musa has accused Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, of “doing a lot of terrible things in the state”.
Musa made the allegation during an interview with Channels Television on Thursday, claiming that el-Rufai contributed to the division of Kaduna State.
“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna state. He divided the state into two. In that, if you are from the south, you cannot go to the north to live. Those ones from the north were moving to the south,” the minister said.
He said the situation had changed under Uba Sani, the current governor of the state, whom he credited with taking steps towards bringing residents together.
“I mean, you can’t imagine that in the country. The country that is supposed to be one. But Governor Uba Sani, within one year, has been able to dissolve all that.
“You see now, everybody is free. Everybody has a say. It’s not 100 percent, let me tell you; it’s not 100 percent. But you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state.”
Musa also said residents in southern Kaduna continued to hold grievances against el-Rufai over his alleged involvement in the violence and killings recorded in the area.
“If you look at his videos, his speeches, he was very proud of what he did. He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this; he did that. He didn’t hide it,” he said.
“He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did.”
Despite his criticism, Musa said he did not regard the former governor as an enemy, but described him as “misguided”.
“Of course, definitely. I mean, if you look at the number of killings that were done there (southern Kaduna) and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all. And he didn’t give opportunities. We couldn’t do a lot of things,” he said.
“But now you could see that breath of fresh air.”
The defence minister said his position was not based on the fact that he was from Kaduna but on his identity as a Nigerian.
He further alleged that el-Rufai had demolished residents’ houses and used his influence against some people in the state.
“I can tell you people what he has done to people living in Kaduna state from his own area. He had just personal [issues] with friends. The next thing, he sends a bulldozer to bulldoze your house down. He’s done it. It’s there on the TV,” he said.
“It’s not anything I’m concocting. People just go to YouTube and check what he has done. I mean, you will see a lot of it.
“He did a lot of things that I’m sure even he too is not proud of. Sitting down to look at it, I think he’s not proud of. And nobody should really, really be able to do that.”
Musa urged Nigerians to support political leaders who would foster unity rather than take advantage of the country’s religious and ethnic differences.