Elrufai and the Jonathanians in the Lagos Lagoon

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is not a man prone to not making mistakes. It was even a mistake that he ventured into public service. But his desire to return to same public service is a process enshrined in methodical calculation. Yet the man is still prone to making mistakes.

Students of political science are yet to witness what legacy he will leave in the arena, however odds are against him achieving anything beyond cheer-leading the more successful members of his All Progressives Congress squad.

When his brother in the cause, Mallam Lamido Sanusi was elected Emir of Kano yesterday, Elrufai immediately told a section of Nigerians, ‘the opposition’ as it were to go and dive head first into the Lagoon.

His tweet reads verbatim, “Alhamdlillah. The best man has won. SLS is the Emir of Kano. Jonathanians can go jump into the Lagoon. – Nasir Elrufai”

The sheer immaturity, childishness and mind boggling stupidity of the statement is amazing. It is a testament as to where the founding fathers of the “Let Us Insult the President” brigade emerged from. Anybody that has over 50% respect for Elrufai after that statement is not looking at life objectively.

In professional sports, they call outbursts like that “unsportsmanlike conduct”. So what? SLS is the new Emir of Kano. Does that instantly deliver the entire political structure in Kano to the APC. Has Elrufai chosen to ignore those vexed people of Kano that took to the streets rioting after the announcement was made. Are they not of voting age? If Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is so popular, then why is there a divide in Kano over his appointment?
If the Kano chapter of Jonathanians were to jump in the Lagos Lagoon, for instance, does Elrufai think there would be a single cubic unit of water in the 50 km stretch that would be free of human traffic?

Ofcourse the bad belle and bad mouth observers will say PDP sponsored the Kano Emir riots. But that’s okay because anyone with an IQ over 50 knows that the PDP could not have organized a protest if they were already busy withdrawing an erroneous congratulatory message. It’s a free country people can assume what they want anyway.

Remember, politically, Kano is still an open field. Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau is waiting to be approved a minister by the Senate, he is a former Governor of the State and is every bit as influential as a Rabiu Kwankwaso or a Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. He is leap years ahead in the arena of influence when it comes to bad mouth people like Elrufai. Yes, Elrufai has a lot of followers on Twitter, blind people who also enjoy insulting the President and people like me, his supporters. But what does that actually count for in terms of raw political capital. Can your Retweets secure votes from the grassroots?

Congratulations on Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s victory. He really wanted the job and he got it. I hope the Kingmakers (read Rabiu Kwankwaso) did not take the decision strictly for the sake of politics because the people of Kano deserve more than that.
Whatever the case, the former CBN Governor must live up to the great responsibility that comes with the position. He should strive to be a Jonathanian in this regard. He should strive to be an individual who places the unity of this great country Nigeria first before ethnic or religious sentiment so that peace and prosperity will reign. He should strive to mediate with his kinsmen and banish insecurity finally from our land. He should do all this knowing perfectly well that there are elements that would wish he jumped into the Lagoon. But not to worry, not a single one of them is a Jonathanian.