Political Drama Desk
It seems the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has just discovered its voice — or rather, borrowed one from the Villa echo chamber — to announce a grand expulsion of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, a man who neither applied to join the SDP through their so-called "ward structure" nor waited to be handed a ceremonial cap before moving on.
In what can only be described as the most dramatic case of "you can’t fire me, I quit," the embattled SDP issued a self-congratulatory press statement banning El-Rufai for 30 years — yes, three whole decades — from associating with a party that owes its momentary flicker of national relevance to him. Irony just died of overwork.
Let’s rewind: El-Rufai, a former Minister, Governor, policy wonk, and firebrand reformer, briefly flirted with the idea of midwifing a third force and magnanimously floated the SDP as a possible vessel. He even showed them what headlines felt like again. But alas, when the rented crowd in the Villa decided to use SDP as a broom closet to sweep away El-Rufai’s shadow, the party obediently barked, hoping for biscuits.
Let’s call a spade what it is — this is not an expulsion. It’s an exorcism of a ghost who already packed his bags and walked into a new coalition. El-Rufai is busy architecting a credible political alternative with weighty minds across party lines. Meanwhile, SDP is holding a funeral for someone who’s very much alive and thriving elsewhere. Pathetic.
Imagine a party so institutionally confused it celebrates banning a man they claim never truly joined them — while simultaneously accusing him of forging membership documents and taking selfies with suspended officers. Make it make sense. This isn’t expulsion; it’s political theatre written in a panic room.
And of course, the invisible hand of Aso Rock is all over this clumsy plot. The same Villa players who dread El-Rufai’s intellect and fear his reach are now orchestrating paper wars, hoping to cage a lion with paper-thin decrees. Unfortunately for them, El-Rufai doesn’t need the SDP. The SDP needs therapy.
What we’re witnessing is the trembling of insecure power brokers watching a political colossus reposition himself. El-Rufai has moved on, leaving behind a party so desperate for attention that it’s banning people to stay trending.
Here's a suggestion for SDP: rather than issue laughable bans, perhaps focus on finding real candidates, developing policies, and—who knows—winning an election for once. Or better still, rename yourselves "Spectators of Democratic Panic."
The Coalition train has long left the station. And El-Rufai? He’s not looking back.