Buba Galadima’s recent verbal attack on former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai is nothing short of a desperate smear campaign—an explosive cocktail of distortions, half-truths, and wild speculation designed to undermine one of Northern Nigeria’s most influential political figures.
At the heart of Galadima’s tirade is the claim that El-Rufai is merely a “placeholder” for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. This assertion crumbles under even basic scrutiny. El-Rufai’s political moves have always been deliberate and principled. On March 10, 2025, he announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC) via his verified X handle, citing a fundamental misalignment with the party’s current trajectory. He declared his intent not to seek elective office but to serve as a Mu’athin—the one who calls others to action, to prayer, to reform. He stated clearly:
“I am not here to contest. I am here to help build something meaningful—something bigger than one individual’s ambition.”
That’s not the language of a pawn; it’s the posture of a strategist and statesman.
Galadima’s attempts to rewrite electoral history are even more laughable. He claimed El-Rufai lost every local government area in Kaduna in 2020—when, in fact, no major elections were held in that year. He may have meant 2019, but the facts speak clearly. In the 2019 Kaduna gubernatorial election, El-Rufai was re-elected with a total of 1,045,427 votes, defeating the PDP’s Isa Ashiru, who garnered 814,168 votes, according to official INEC results. That victory included major wins across the state’s 23 local government areas.
Further, in the 2019 presidential election, the APC swept the polls in Kaduna. President Muhammadu Buhari polled 993,445 votes, while Atiku Abubakar of the PDP managed only 649,612—a significant margin of over 343,000 votes. Galadima’s claim that the PDP took all three senatorial seats is also misleading. While the PDP did win two out of the three senatorial districts (Kaduna South and Central), the APC retained Kaduna North, home to El-Rufai’s core support base.
Galadima also misrepresented the National Assembly results. He claimed PDP won 12 out of 14 House of Representatives seats. In reality, PDP won 7 seats while the APC secured 8, again according to official INEC figures. The facts do not align with Galadima’s narrative of El-Rufai’s irrelevance.
Far from being “finished” or “politically dead,” El-Rufai remains a towering figure in Northern Nigeria’s political landscape. His tenure as governor was marked by bold and often controversial reforms—from sacking unqualified teachers after a statewide competency test to initiating the massive urban renewal projects in Kaduna city, Zaria, and Kafanchan. His administration attracted over $2 billion in foreign and domestic investments, and under his watch, Kaduna became one of the top-ranking states in ease of doing business, as reported by the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria.
He also prioritized education, introducing free and compulsory primary to junior secondary education, with over 1.1 million pupils enrolled in public schools by the end of his tenure. These achievements are not the legacy of a political lightweight—they are the hallmarks of a reformer with vision and resolve.
El-Rufai’s recent political repositioning has rattled more than just Galadima. It has stirred debates, drawn defections, and shifted conversations. His voice continues to resonate, not just because of nostalgia, but because of credibility and results. His criticisms of the current administration in Kaduna are not bitter jabs from the sidelines, but principled interventions from someone who knows the terrain intimately.
Galadima’s final jab—recalling El-Rufai’s past statements about Atiku—is a red herring. Nigerian politics is dynamic. Alliances shift, rhetoric evolves, and priorities change. What remains constant is a leader’s capacity to inspire and organize—and El-Rufai has that in abundance.
In contrast, Galadima’s own political relevance has waned. Once a loud voice during the Buhari era, his recent public appearances reek more of desperation than authority. His promotion of NNPP’s supposed rise is transparent self-interest, an attempt to piggyback on a new wave while dragging down a proven figure.
Nasir El-Rufai’s legacy is built on performance, principle, and political courage. His 2019 re-election was a public endorsement. His decision to step away from power and guide others is a sign of statesmanship, not surrender. Galadima may be shouting, but history remembers builders, not noisemakers.
El-Rufai has called the prayer. And from the way the political landscape is shifting, it seems the faithful are beginning to gather.
Tags
News