The Middle Belt Forum criticized Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, a former Governor of Kaduna State, and expressed their belief that he is a dangerous politician.
They advised his successor, Uba Sani, and President Bola Tinubu to steer clear of him.
Additionally, the Middle Belt Forum emphasized that the agenda for the alleged Islamization of Nigeria, despite being denied by some, is indeed real and not a mere coincidence.
While calling on the security agencies to place him on their watchlist, the organisation demanded that the Department of State Services should invite, “this little bit dangerous manipulator, who is skilled in the politics of deploying religious sentiments”, for questioning.
The Middle Belt Forum responded to what they considered as inflammatory statements made by El-Rufai shortly before his departure. In these statements, he revealed his involvement in a plan to establish a ticket consisting of individuals from the same religious faith in Kaduna State, which was later successfully replicated at the national level.
In a video clip, the former governor recalled his determination, along with others, to maintain a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the next two decades. The intention behind this plan was to ensure that Christians would come to accept the necessity of having a ticket composed of individuals from the same faith as a solution for peace, both in Kaduna State and at the national level.
He said, “There is no doubt that this former governor remains a clear present and future danger to the unity of our nation. He is subtly working for a group that is unremittingly and persistently poised at installing the supremacy of the Islamic faith in the corridor of power.
“Both Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should be wary of associating with him.
“This little but dangerous manipulator, who is skilled in the politics of deploying religious sentiments, must not be allowed near the corridors of power. He has become a national evil that must be avoided at all costs.
“The Forum calls on the Nigerian security agencies not only to place the former governor under its radar but he should be invited by the secret police for a chat. Considering the comments he made before the clerics, the man who suffers from an inferiority complex must be considered as a dangerous politician riding on the wings of religion for relevance. We hereby denounce El-Rufai’s comments before the clerics as a shameless act of national hypocrisy steeped in the premeditated plot to set adherents of both religions on warpath.”
As the socio-cultural organisation for ethnic nationalities that are mostly Christians of the middle belt region, the MBF said it was outraged by the deceitful attempts by El-Rufai “and his nebulous co-travellers to push our nation down the slippery slope of religious tension and bigotry.”
Pogu expressed that the strong reaction to the El-Rufai video clip reflects the deep disappointment felt by Nigerians. The former governor’s remarks were perceived as an attempt to incite religious tensions and disrupt the stability of the Nigerian state.
He said, “The unfortunate comments by this bigot, who is erroneously thought of as a nationalist and public intellectual, portray him as a divisive leader who not only thrives in creating chaos but also reveal him as an irredeemable religious extremist whose antecedents as governor showcases him as a treacherous enemy of Nigeria that must be barred from the corridor of power.
“Even before now, the Forum has never been deceived by the pretentiousness of the former governor whose stock in trade is divisiveness hidden under the thin covering of public intellectualism and patriotism.
“When the Senate declared the man who speaks before he thinks incapable of holding public office, not a few agreed to the recommendation of the upper chamber of the National Assembly. Sadly, he found himself in power and unleashed his venom of sadism on both Christians and Muslims.
“The video clip exposes him as the most contemptible and appalling divider-in-chief. His hypocrisy and innermost desire to work against the secularity of the Nigerian State have left many to ask: What is this little man, who has benefitted greatly from Nigeria, trying to achieve? If there has been any doubt of his complicity and dubiousness in the promotion of heightened political and religious tension in Nigeria, his meeting with selected members of Muslim clerics leaves no one in doubt that he is the most dangerous politician in the country today.
“His eight years in power as governor, characterized by massive killings and decimation of Christian-dominated areas of Southern Kaduna, can now be understood. He acted unconcerned with these genocidal attacks on communities located in the south where scores of towns and villages were decimated and tens of thousands killed, including deploying religion to subjugate the area by denying the indigenous groups political appointments.
“Now that the cat has been let out of the bag, those unsure of who El-Rufai is, now understand the chameleonic personality of this treacherous politician whose cunningness is most despicable.
“Nigerians are now aware that despite denials of the Islamisation agenda, El-Rufai has come out to declare in broad daylight the reasons behind the same-faith ticket, thereby driving the imperatives for citizens to wake up to this orchestrated stratagem of enthroning the dominance of one religion over the other.”
