Former Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Political Matters, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed says the degeneration of the friendship between the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu and former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai reveals one of the poisonous elements of Nigeria’s politics.
TopSociety recalls that both men were part of the inner circle of the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a period in which they built a close professional and personal relationship that later continued through El-Rufai’s tenure as Kaduna governor.
Their escalating rift became public knowledge last week when El-Rufai accused Ribadu of ordering his “abduction” at the Abuja airport, claiming that associates had tapped Ribadu’s phone and heard instructions to security operatives to detain him.
El-Rufai, a chieftain of the opposition All Democratic Congress (ADC) also alleged that the NSA was influencing investigations by anti-corruption agencies and the Kaduna State House of Assembly for political reasons linked to an alleged 2031 presidential ambition.
He further raised concerns over the reported procurement of thallium sulphate by the Office of the National Security Adviser and called for public clarification.
Ribadu has denied all the claims, insisting that the alleged ambition was baseless and that agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operate independently.
Baba-Ahmed, while featuring as guest on Political Paradigm, a current affairs programme on Channels Television on Tuesday, said the deterioration of El-Rufai and Ribadu’s relationship reflected a deeper problem in Nigeria’s political culture.
His words, “I am extremely saddened by the development. I know both gentlemen and how deep their personal relationship was, and I see one of the poisonous elements of our politics.
“If you can actually poison a relationship with this nature this deeply, then we are in very serious trouble… it is very saddening to see this relationship just simply degenerate to a point that their personal relationship is now so poisoned that nobody thinks about the consequences… we are dealing with a situation of two friends threatening to take legal action against each other,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed went on to say that the former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai should focus on clearing his name over corruption allegations, describing him as “a very difficult person to advise”.
“If I were to advise El-Rufai, there are so few fronts that you’d fight, so try and limit the damage, focus your attention on getting yourself cleaned up on allegations that you stole money from the people…,” he said but by temperament, “Mallam El-Rufai by character is a very difficult person to advise…”
The northern elder argued that the various allegations and counter-allegations surrounding the former governor should not be dismissed as political drama but tested in court.
“I’d say that the simpler way to go about this is put all these allegations on the table. They are legal issues, from the allegations of corruption against Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to the allegations that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu… to the allegation of imported, poisoned chemicals.
“All these weighty issues must be brought at the disposal of the judicial process, and we must know what the truths or otherwise of these allegations are; we cannot sweep them on the grounds that this is politics, it’s not good enough,” he said.
