The former political adviser to ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Ben Kure, has said he regrets joining hands to bring his former boss to power, alleging that the former governor ruled through exclusion, discrimination, and division along ethnic and religious lines.
Kure, who is now the Managing Director of the Kaduna State Media Corporation, spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He recalled serving as Director General of El-Rufai’s governorship campaigns in 2015 and 2019, as well as holding different government positions under him, but described the experience as one of his greatest political mistakes.
“In my life, I have never regretted taking actions like following or joining hands to support Malam Nasir El-Rufai. It is highly regrettable because he was labeled as a nationalist.
“But what we saw under his eight years of leadership in Kaduna State was nothing but politics of exclusion, politics of discrimination and the politics of divide and rule.
“Malam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai thrives in crisis. He used religion and tribal sentiments to knock heads together so he could have his way,” Kure said.
Asked why he continued to serve under El-Rufai despite these misgivings, Kure explained that party loyalty kept him in line.
“We have been trying to get this so that the party can go. We believed in the future that by the grace of God, we are going to have a person that will redeem the ills that Malam Nasir El-Rufai meted on the good people of Kaduna State,” he noted.
He further alleged that El-Rufai sidelined those who fought to bring him into government and “treated Southern Kaduna people like lepers,” noting that despite leading the campaign team that helped secure El-Rufai’s victory, the former governor did not find them worthy of respect or treat their communities fairly.
Kure recounted that he and other APC pioneers in Kaduna including retired Colonel Abdullahi, Senator MB Saleh, and former lawmaker Shehu Balarabe were the “foot soldiers” who built the structure that supported El-Rufai’s rise to power, only to be discarded afterwards.
“Malam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, when he came to Kaduna, came as a greenhorn in politics without base, without any structure. We were the foot soldiers that ensured that he clinched his ticket and became governor. But all he had to do was to exclude us and divide Kaduna sharply,” he said.
Contrasting El-Rufai with the current governor, Uba Sani, Kure praised the incumbent as a “consummate democrat, passionate and compassionate leader” who immediately sought to reconcile a divided state upon assuming office.
“He brought the two extreme ends of Kaduna State to become one and confidence-building came. He also championed security management by working with the National Security Adviser, community leaders, religious leaders and stakeholders to address kidnappings and herders’ attacks through non-kinetic approaches,” Kure said.
According to him, Governor Sani’s model allows communities to identify criminals in their midst and take collective action, thereby restoring peace and strengthening unity in the state.
Kure’s comments add to the ongoing debate over El-Rufai’s legacy, with critics accusing him of deepening divisions in Kaduna while supporters point to his record of infrastructure development and governance reforms.
