The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has described former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s administration as “toxic”, alleging that he deliberately planned the killing of people in Southern Kaduna during his tenure.
Musa made the allegation on Thursday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
He alleged that El-Rufai deepened divisions in Kaduna State, making it difficult for residents from Southern Kaduna to live freely in the northern part of the state and vice versa.
“We know how it was when El-Rufai was there; it was toxic,” Musa said.
“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the state into two. In that, if you are from the south, you cannot go to the north to live. Those ones from the north were moving to the south.”
Musa, however, said the current governor, Uba Sani, had made deliberate efforts to restore unity in the state.
“Governor Sani within one year has been able to dissolve all that. You see, now everybody is free, everybody has a say. It’s not 100 per cent, but you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state,” he said.
On the feelings of Southern Kaduna residents towards El-Rufai, Musa said they remained deeply aggrieved over the killings recorded during his administration.
“I think if there’s anything worse than unhappy, we can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” he said.
The minister also accused El-Rufai of openly admitting to paying bandits.
“He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this, he did that. He didn’t hide it. He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did,” Musa said.
Musa said Southern Kaduna residents were still traumatised by the killings but noted that the security situation had improved under the current administration.
“The Southern Kaduna people are still very pained. Of course, definitely. I mean, if you look at the number of killings that was done there and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all,” he said.
He further alleged that El-Rufai denied some residents opportunities during his administration, including people from his own area.
“I can tell you what he has done to people living in Kaduna from his own area. He did a lot of things that I’m sure even him is not proud of,” he added.
Musa urged Nigerians to reject politicians who use religion and ethnicity to divide the country.
“We should get politicians that want to unite Nigeria. For me, any individual who is using either religion, tribe, creed, or anything to divide the state can never be a friend; can never be somebody we look up to,” he said.
“Anybody who is using religion or tribe or whatever to divide Nigeria is an enemy of the state.”
