‘El-Rufai’s Quest For Vengeance Pushed Him To SDP’

The defection of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Monday will no doubt shape opposition dynamics ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

But the former governor’s motives remain questionable. This was according to Otunba Segun Showunmi, the National Coordinator of the National Opposition Movement Coalition (NOMC).

Speaking with THE WHISTLER on Tuesday, the 2023 Ogun State governorship aspirant described El-Rufai’s political migration as driven by personal grudge and “an elevated desire for vengeance” rather than genuine concern for national or regional interests

El-Rufai, a founding member of the APC, announced his departure from the party on Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences with its leadership and the party’s alleged deviation from its founding principles.

He also pledged to work towards uniting opposition parties against the APC in the 2027 elections.

El-Rufai pledged to build a unified opposition platform to challenge the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government.

In a letter announcing his resignation from the ruling party, El-Rufai claimed the ruling APC had “strayed” from its founding vision, stating, “I must seek another political platform for the pursuit of the progressive values I cherish.”

“…as a member of the SDP, I will focus on engaging with and persuading other opposition leaders and parties to join us and congregate under a unified democratic platform to challenge the APC in all elections and bye-elections between now and 2027 by the Grace of God. I, therefore, call on all our supporters and other persons concerned about our country’s future to join us in the SDP in the journey towards making Nigeria flourish as a beacon of pride for Africans and the Black Race,” said the ex-governor.

El-Rufai had previously stated his dissatisfaction with the Tinubu administration. In February, he warned that the relationship between the president and northern Nigeria had deteriorated and suggested that Tinubu might receive “Goodluck Jonathan’s treatment” in the 2027 polls.

THE WHISTLER reports that after winning the 2023 election, President Tinubu nominated El-Rufai for a ministerial appointment. However, the National Assembly rejected the ex-Kaduna governor based on alleged “security concerns.”

However, El-Rufai, in a recent interview, claimed his rejection by the National Assembly was orchestrated by the president.

Speaking with THE WHISTLER, Showunmi dismissed El-Rufai’s self-positioning as a northern champion, suggesting that his quest for vengeance may have informed his move to the SDP.

“Who has made him the champion of the North? Who has canonised him as the owner of the people of the North that he did not even look after over the years?” he questioned.

“Who has made him the owner of the North that does not even take into cognisance the North Central or the Christian minority? Nobody can appropriate the suffering of any zone to himself exclusively, and certainly Nasir [El-Rufai] cannot appropriate the suffering of Nigerians to himself.

“Nasir has decamped; let us hope that he will not go and destroy the SDP.”

The PDP chieftain further questioned El-Rufai’s political judgment, noting a pattern of his political endorsements since 2013, when the APC was founded through a merger of Nigeria’s then-three largest opposition parties.

“We have accepted the rights of people to associate and we have also accepted the habits of people who are mostly incapable of staying in a political party for a long time.

“It has almost become fashionable for some people to think that the grass is greener every time outside where they are. I do not agree with these fallacies.

“I believe that to build strong institutions takes time and that everything we try to bring towards the emancipation or the development of our country must first purge itself of anger, of the need for vengeance, or an exaggerated desire to be seen.

“Those who said the APC was great also said Buhari was the messiah; they also said Bola Tinubu was the harbinger of hope; they have been wrong three times. How can they convince Nigerians that they know what they’re doing the fourth time, especially when we can sense personal grudges, personal anger and an elevated desire for vengeance?”

Speaking further, Showunmi downplayed the significance of El-Rufai’s move to the SDP, arguing that the 2027 elections would be a battle between established parties, regional interests, and shifts in political influence.

“The battle for 2027 will be a battle fought on at least four levels. First is the battle of established parties like the PDP and the APC to assert themselves and prevent themselves from going under. The second is the battle of the old order and the new order [and] of course Nasir cannot claim to be the new order.

“The third is the battle of the North versus the South, and of course the battle of the Presidency versus all the others. The 2027 election will be fought on those levels.

“Whoever is able to align the lines of least resistance of all four may come out victorious.”

‘El-Rufai’s Quest For Vengeance Pushed Him To SDP’ is first published on The Whistler Newspaper