…As El-Rufai, Shehu Sani lock horns
‘Shehu Sani lacks discipline’
By ISMAIL OMIPIDAN
Politically speaking, Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai of Kaduna State and his rival, Senator Shehu Sani, do not share anything in common. Before El-Rufai’s foray into politics, Sani had all along pretended to be a politician, while being active in his Human Rights activism. But the APC slogan, “Chanji Dole (change by force)’’ brought them together, towards the build up to the 2015 elections.
However, El-Rufai’s political Adviser, Mallam Uba Sani, who many, including a chieftain of the party in the state, Dr. Abdulrahman Usman, believed, is the one fuelling the crisis, because of his alleged ambition, have so many things in common with Senator Sani. Saturday Sun, gathered that the two men who are household names in the Human Rights community in Kaduna State, have at some point in their lives, lived together, under one roof, with attendant fraternal adventures. In fact, some Kaduna residents had thought they were blood relations, owing to the similarity in their surname.
Saturday Sun can authoritatively reveal that but for the stern warning from the various stakeholders that formed the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to President Muhammadu Buhari, then as the party’s candidate, not to interfere, Senator Sani would not have emerged candidate of the party, let alone win the general elections.
Sani knew that he was neither the choice candidate of Buhari, nor was El-Rufai pleased to have him run as a candidate, in a party he was a major stakeholder. Therefore, from day one, Senator Sani has been ostracized in the Kaduna APC. He was practically shut out of every key decision, including appointments into positions that ordinarily fall within his Kaduna Central Senatorial District.
After winning the election, Sani constituted himself into a one-man opposition against El-Rufai’s policies in the state, which many, including APC stakeholders in the state considered as anti-people. Interestingly, Kaduna Central, which Sani represents at the Senate, is peopled mostly by unemployed youths, including those who engage in menial jobs for survival. It is also a place for sophisticated political elites and businessmen.
Ironically, most of the youths in the zone do not seem to buy into El-Rufai’s sophisticated style of governance. These categories of youths are already seeing Sani, as a hero in the ensuing political squabble between him and the governor, and had since queued behind him.
Historically speaking, at least from 1999, Saturday Sun gathered that Sani’s election makes it the second time a Senator from the zone, will belong to the same party with the government at the state level and the centre. The first was in 2007 when Senator Kabir Jibril, was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In that election, PDP won the governorship poll in the state, and it was also the government at the centre. From 1999 to date, it was the first and the last time, the PDP would ever win the seat in the senatorial district.
However, this is also the first time a Senator from the zone, who is in the same party with the government at the state level and the centre would be squaring up with the governor from his own party publicly over state policy matters.
Once El-Rufai assumed office, he showed early signs, that it would not be business as usual, and he wasted no time in dismantling all the traditional ways of doing things in government circle in the state. Prominent among those early signs were the abolition of Ramadan feeding and Sallah and Christmas largesse to people in the state.
However, Sani did not only go ahead to reach out to the needy, during the 2015 Ramadan fast, he also distributed cows, camels, rice and cartons of groundnut oil, during the Sallah period, thereby filling the gap created by the Kaduna State Government’s decision to discontinue an age-long tradition.
That singular decision turned out to be a political masterstroke as Sani instantly became a hero, with some Kaduna residents openly castigating the governor, saying “sakanini mu da Mallam, Allah ya isa (God will judge between us and El-Rufai.)
Since then, the battle line has been drawn between the two chieftains. But it was more of a media war until last week, when violence was introduced into the cold war.
In January this year, Senator Sani was suspended from the party for 11 months, for allegedly criticising State’s policies publicly and for “portraying the governor in a bad light before the local and international communities.”
The suspension had since expired on Friday, December 2, 2016, but to the consternation of APC faithful in Kaduna, the Senator was again slammed an indefinite suspension. On that day, some youths who were believed to be loyal to the governor’s aide, attacked Sani’s family house in Tudun Wada. But determined to avert a breakdown of law and order, policemen fired teargas canisters to disperse the irate youths.
By the next day, which was a Saturday, Sani’s constituency office at Junction Road was again attacked by persons allegedly loyal to the governor’s Political Adviser, Mallam Uba Sani. Senator Sani fumed over the attack
Speaking, the activist said: “What is happening today in Kaduna is shameful and sad. It is unfortunate that Kaduna Central is the most dangerous place to be today in Nigeria because the governor has abandoned his responsibilities and decided to channel all his energy to fighting Senator Shehu Sani.
“El-Rufai is a convertee from PDP. He came to APC with their destructive tendencies. His ideas are in conflict with our party’s manifesto. He has also crippled APC in Kaduna. Those who follow him are not people of honour.
“He can’t intimidate me because I was elected by the masses of this state but he gave money to scale through the party primaries. And he waited for President Buhari to raise his hand for people of Kaduna State. That will not happen again. The days of President Buhari’s grace is gone. Kaduna voters will vote with their eyes wide open, according to individual performance.
“I am telling Governor Nasir El-Rufai to stop paying herdsmen who kill their brothers in Southern Kaduna; he should also stop paying thugs to kill me. He should channel the resources to the development of Kaduna state.
“Whoever thinks he can silence me does not know my history. I have fought for democracy for over 30 years. El-Rufai has no capacity to confront me. And his men cannot suspend me from the party. How can a tenant sack his landlord?”
El-Rufai’s Aide Fires Back
But reacting to the allegation, El-Rufai’s Special Adviser on Political Matters, Mallam Uba Sani, asked Shehu Sani to stop his “political tantrum and grow up from being childish,” saying Sani was “only roaring because of his suspension from the party in the state.”
He further said: “It has become imperative to set the records straight. Everyone knows that it is Shehu Sani that has spent 18 months attacking the Governor personally and opposing every government policy. The state government has ignored his tan trums while the party has acted to uphold discipline. Shehu Sani should keep the government out of his woes.
“We are beneficiaries of democracy and we champion an open society. We respect democratic values and will never resort to unconstitutional means of settling differences. He should be careful not to make wild and unsubstantiated claims.”
APC NWC indifferent
At some point, the national Secretariat of the party intervened as it came to quash the earlier suspension slammed on Shehu Sani. Led by the party’s North-West Vice Chairman, Inuwa Abdulkadir, the APC, sued for peace between the feuding parties.
However, if the State chapter of the party could go ahead with a suspension purportedly quashed by the National Secretariat some months ago, it is a clear sign that the National Secretariat appears not to be in control.
Speaking on why it was difficult for the National Secretariat of the party to stamp its authority, a Kaduna-based political activist and a chieftain of the party, Dr. Abdulrahman Usman put the blame squarely on the doorstep of the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun.
He said: “When you cannot manage a party at the national level, how can you resolve crisis at the state level? Apart from Lai’s position, tell me which other position that has been vacant since we formed government, has been filled? So it is the same thing here in Kaduna. The party chairman is the Deputy Governor, so it makes running the party a bit difficult.
“Look, we were just lucky in Ondo that Olusola Oke left the PDP. If he had remained in the PDP, with the crisis we had, arising from the primary, PDP would have won that State. The crisis in Kaduna APC, is larger than what you can see, it goes beyond Sani and El-Rufai. The truth is that a lot of people are not happy with the governor, because of his lack of inclusiveness in the governance of the State. A lot of the stakeholders are being sidelined.”
My governor has no time for him – Aide
From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Shuaibu Kabiru Bello is the Technical Adviser (Political) to Governor El-Rufai. He bares his mind on burning political issues revolving around his Principal, concerning the crisis between El-Rufai and Shehu. Sani. Excerpts:
There is an allegation that the State government is behind APC crisis in the State, what do you say concerning that?
That is not true. My governor doesn’t have to engage in verbal war with Shehu Sani. Shehu Sani has been castigating people and targeted State government’s policies.
What about the alleged involvement of Uba Sani in the sinister attack on the Senator’s family house in Tudun Wada?
The allegation that Uba Sani is behind the attack on the family house of the Senator at Tudun Wada is a blatant lie. Mallam Uba Sani is not a violent person. He’s a peace-loving person. He has been trying to see that the government of the day succeed and deliver its campaign promises to the people.
There are still a lot of work to be done and that means the governor or his progressive team will not be deterred by the distraction from the Senator and his supporters. The suspension was slammed on him because of his anti-party activities. He has been making utterances that have made the party uncomfortable and hindering its delivery efforts.
But do you think suspending him was the best option?
They actually suspended him 11 months ago because they deemed it necessary to do so. He is supposed to support and promote the activities of his party. His suspension is laudable. The ward took a bold step to suspend him indefinitely.
What is the way forward, how do you think the warring parties can be brought together?
I want to call on the Senator as an elder to come back to his senses and apologise to the party and see how he can mend the broken walls. I call on him to stop the media war.
The way forward is first and foremost, the Senator has to accept that he has gone wrong. But if that is missing, I think the basic ingredient of reconciliation is missing. Anything outside that, the party is free to take any action against him.
Are you aware that excos at Ward 6 were allegedly bribed with N3 million to suspend him from his party?
With regard to N3 million bribery allegation over his suspension, I don’t know anything about that.
Is Uba Sani contesting for any political office, come 2019?
Mallam Uba Sani has not said he’s interested in any political office for now. But then, he has the constitutional right to vote and be voted for.
It’s fight to finish -Sani’s Aide
From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Suleiman Ahmed is the Senior Special Adviser on Politics and Ideology to Senator Shehu Sani.
He spoke to Saturday Sun on the crisis between his principal and the Kaduna State Governor.
What is responsible for the political feud between your Principal and the governor, and who started the heat this time around?
I’m making this submission regarding the present political crisis emanating from Kaduna State between the Senator and people in government headed by the governor (El-Rufai) and his Political Adviser, Uba Sani.
If you can remember, 11 months ago, there was a kangaroo APC exco set up in Kaduna State through a collaboration with the excos at the ward of the Senator (ward 6), that they have suspended the Senator for 11 months. Shortly after the expiration of the false suspension, the excos from his ward were invited to the Government House by the Political Adviser to Governor El-Rufai, Uba Sani, and were given money, which was about N3 million for 17 of them to share. They were equally promised plots of land. That means they got about 176,400 each if they are sincere with one another.
What makes you this sure that the alleged amount was given out and the landed property promised, considering that they are all from the Senator’s ward?
No, not all the excos. It was just a few of them that refused to admit they collected the bribe. Earlier, some of them have opened up but others denied it. Coincidentally, some of these thugs with some excos were inside the Government House together with Uba Sani prior to the suspension and subsequent physical attacks.
Are you alleging that the state government has a hand in the upheaval?
Yes. We have found out that the government of Kaduna State is concentrating its strength on Sen. Sani. You gather tax payers’ money just to fight the Senator and force him out of the party at the expense of the development of the State where insecurity, failure of infrastructure, underdevelopment, and social problems are everywhere.
Senator is not holding executive power. He’s a legislator and that means that his activities are in the Senate and his constituency which he has been doing very well. So, they felt that people are satisfied with the Senator everywhere you go. Removing him from APC will not change anything. It will only strengthen him because he has done far better than any other Senator since the return of democracy in 1999 in Kaduna.
This indefinite suspension was orchestrated by the state government. The party chairmen at the Council level of the Senator’s area were just invited and cajoled to say they are in support of the suspension. No formal procedure. They succumbed because they were afraid they may be removed from their positions by the government. There was a letter they signed, written by the Government House and their names were attached.
Away from that, there were series of attacks on the Senator’s family house and constituency office…
(Cuts in) As if that was not enough, that very Thursday night, we reported to the Police about their planned attack on the Senator. Some of the boys were invited by the DPO of that area to come and write an undertaking that should there be anything like violence, he would arrest them. The following morning, they went and gather more forces and came in large number and started attacking people around the family house of the Senator located at No.5, Alkalawa Road, Tudun Wada North.
Were security agencies properly briefed?
Yes very well. Due to our experience in managing situation like this, we always inform the Police anytime we suspect there may be unrest even outside political environment.
The Police on hearing that there was an attack on his family house deployed four vehicles and some of their men and were forced to use teargas to dispatch them. It has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that it was sponsored by the government. How can a government be picking thugs from their ward and bring them inside the Government House? You are now concentrating the resources of the State in one ward. What kind of government do we have now in Kaduna State?
Then, are we likely to see the end to this soon?
There might not be an end to this until Shehu Sani leaves office. What they are fighting is his performance. Before Shehu Sani became a Senator during the primary election, he knew that he was not wanted. Some of the delegates were offered money not to vote for Sani. But he told them that he was not going to buy anybody over. If they have confidence in him that he was going to represent people, then they should follow their hearts and that was what he told them and they saw a lot of sense in it and voted for him.
Is your principal planning to cross to another political party?
Issue of changing party might not arise now because the Senator is one of those that worked and started APC in Kaduna. El-Rufai just joined the party recently after spending 13 years in PDP. You cannot say the Senator should change his party because El-Rufai wants him out of the party. There is no standard excos at the state level. There was, before election, but immediately El-Rufai came to power, he picked 14 of them and gave them political appointments; some as directors and some as assistant directors, so the State is waiting for the national body to come and conduct election.
Let’s go back to the issue of suspension, will you challenge it?
The suspension holds no water as being said by the national excos through the office of national publicity Secretary. The last suspension has not moved the State forward or makes El-Rufai to be fat or tall. He remains the El-Rufai you know, and it will not change the Senator’s outstanding performance in the Senate. It will not change him from contributing to his people or change the way he reasons about the policies that are against the people.
Shehu Sani was elected based on merit while El-Rufai rode on Buhari’s ladder, Buhari had to raise his hand before he won the primary. So, they don’t share anything in common by the virtue of how they came in.