By Ify Okoli
The wounds left by years of killings in Southern Kaduna
remain deep, with Defence Minister Christopher Musa accusing former Kaduna
State Governor Nasir El-Rufai of deliberately planning the deaths of people in
the region.
Musa made the allegation on Thursday while answering
questions on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he also spoke
about the divisions he said characterised El-Rufai’s administration and the
efforts of the current governor, Uba Sani, to bring Kaduna residents closer
together.
For many people in Southern Kaduna, Musa said, the issue
goes beyond being unhappy with a former governor. He said the killings recorded
during El-Rufai’s tenure had left residents deeply hurt and traumatised.
“Well, I don’t know if unhappy is an issue. 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,” Musa said.
He alleged that El-Rufai’s actions and policies created such
deep divisions in Kaduna that people from the southern part of the state found
it difficult to live freely in the north, while some residents from the north
moved south.
“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 country, 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.
“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%. Let
me tell you, it’s not 100%, but you can see that he’s making deliberate effort
in uniting the state.”
Musa said the difference between the situation during the
former governor’s tenure and what exists under Sani was particularly visible in
the security situation in Southern Kaduna.
“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.
The Defence Minister also pointed to El-Rufai’s public
statements as part of the basis for his criticism, alleging that the former
governor had openly spoken about actions taken during his administration.
“I mean, when you look at it, if you look at his videos, you
know, his speeches, he was very proud of what he did.
“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.”
Beyond the violence, Musa accused the former governor of
denying some people opportunities during his time in office. He said the
effects of El-Rufai’s administration were felt even by people from the
governor’s own part of Kaduna.
“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 said the challenge facing Kaduna and Nigeria generally
was not one that could be solved through further division. Rather, he called
for political leaders capable of bringing people together irrespective of their
religion, ethnicity or creed.
“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,” Musa
said.
“We shouldn’t have those kind of ones in government. Anybody
who is using religion or tribe or whatever to divide Nigeria is an enemy of the
state.”
While acknowledging that the work of rebuilding Kaduna was
not yet complete, Musa credited Governor Sani with making deliberate efforts to
restore unity and rebuild trust among residents.
His comments placed the experience of Southern Kaduna at the
centre of a wider warning against political leaders who, in his view, use
existing religious and ethnic differences to deepen divisions rather than bring
communities together.
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