El-Rufai is a very difficult person to advise, he needs to stop digging — Hakeem Baba-Ahmed
The former special adviser on political matters to Vice-President, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has taken aim at over his recent moves as corruption claims trail him.
Baba-Ahmed made the remarks on Tuesday during ‘Political Paradigm’ on .
“Well, unfortunately, Mallam Nasiru, by character, is a very difficult person to advise,” he said.
“Because if he was amenable to advise, I am sure somewhere along the line there would be someone who would say, ‘try and do some damage control’.
“This is a government that takes no prisoners. They are alleging, they are trying to throw before a judge to say, we have evidence that while he was in office, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai, he embezzled money and stole money.
“There’s a proverb that says ‘when you find yourself in a ditch, stop digging’. The first rule of being in the ditch is stop digging.
“So everything that had happened since his return was just simply escalating and reinforcing the hostility against him.”
He further stated that el-Rufai had initially been responding to corruption accusations but later made televised comments implying that he or someone close to him had taken part in unlawful actions.
“Then, now you wrote a letter under your own signature, asking the National Security Adviser to comment or shed light on the importation of dangerous substances within his country,” he said.
“How far do you want to go in this?”
When asked whether el-Rufai should have avoided writing to the National Security Adviser, Baba-Ahmed said he would have advised caution.
“Well, I’m saying that if I was advising Nasiru under these very difficult circumstances, I would have said, one, you’re a very prominent member of the ADC,” he said.
“You are more useful to the ADC as a free man, not encumbered by a lot of allegations and fights.
“There are just so many, so few fronts that you’ll fight. So try and limit the damage.
“Focus your attention on getting yourself cleaned up, on the allegation that you stole money from the people of Kaduna state.
“But apparently that advice wasn’t given to him, or he didn’t want it. Now, they are saying we have three issues against you.
“One, you have to answer questions about your custody of the people of Kaduna state’s money.
“Then, you have to answer our questions regarding the comments you made on live TV that you are involved in bugging Mallam ’s phone.
“Now, you’ve written a letter revealing the notice you have that the national security advisor is in custody of poisonous material.
“So, if you put all these things together, the point I’m making is that Mallam Nasir el-Rufai seems to have ignored that proverb, ‘if you’re in the ditch, stop digging’.”
His comments follow controversy over an alleged attempt by security agents to detain el-Rufai at the after he returned from Cairo.
On January 30, el-Rufai requested that Ribadu clarify reports concerning the alleged purchase of about 10 kilogrammes of thallium sulphate by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The former governor had also claimed, during an appearance on Prime Time on , that he accessed an intercepted telephone conversation involving Ribadu. He admitted the act was unlawful but argued that such practices are commonly carried out by the government.