Former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has warned that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was tilting towards authoritarianism, comparing the president’s style of governance to that of the sit-tight Cameroonian leader, Paul Biya.
El-Rufai made the remarks on Saturday evening when he received former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who paid him a solidarity visit following a recent attack on him by “suspected APC-sponsored thugs” during the inauguration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna State.
In his remarks, El-Rufai described the Tinubu government as a disgrace to democratic ideals, accusing it of centralising power rather than deepening federalism.
“Honestly sir, to me, it is even a disgrace. I mean, for people to behave the way they are behaving, it means that all the years of saying that we are for democracy and NADECO, all the claims that we are fighting for true federalism and so on—it was all a pretence, all fake again. Because this government (Tinubu’s administration) is trying to centralize everything instead of devolving power to the lower levels,” he said.
He further warned that if Nigerians do not unite to end Tinubu’s administration at the polls in 2027, the president might attempt to perpetuate himself in power like Cameroon’s President Paul Biya.
“The sum total of this is that we are facing an evil of such a large proportion in the history of this country that if we don’t come together and end this Tinubu administration by 2027, Tinubu will try to be our Paul Biya. All the signs are there, this is how Paul Biya started,” El-Rufai added.
Praising his guest Atiku’s role in Nigeria’s democratic struggles, the former governor said Nigerians were counting on his experience and leadership to rally the opposition.
“You (Atiku Abubakar) are our leader, you have done this fight before, you have fought the military, you have experience in democratic governance. And when you and Obasanjo were in charge of this country, no one was being harassed because he had a different political feel, never, not once. Even President Buhari, with his military background, never did that, and here we are facing full-fledged civilians but they are worse than any military regime we’ve ever had.
“Your call that we must unite is a timely one. I think the people of Nigeria have made up their mind that APC must be voted out. Nigerians are looking forward to his (Tinubu’s) ouster. We must provide the leadership and the unity of purpose that we have talked about, and then I am sure with your leadership, forbearance and diplomatic skills of bringing people together, I am sure we will reach the Promised Land,” El-Rufai said.
Responding, Atiku applauded El-Rufai’s courage and urged opposition leaders to remain focused on ensuring that the Tinubu administration was checked and eventually voted out through the ballot box.
“Anyway, I know you are not the type of person who is scared to confront this situation, the more reason why we should come together to confront this situation to make sure that, one, it doesn’t happen anymore during the remaining part of this administration, and secondly, like you said, we send them out by 2027, not through any other thing else but through the ballot box,” Atiku stated.
