Guys, I know this is the least of Nigeria's problems at the moment; but hey, let's lay it bare here.

The 3 guys are the face of the 'New North'. They have many things in common: all of them within same age-grade(50-51); all of them Fulani(or is El-Rufai Hausa?); all of them attended ABU Zaria; each of them the most controversial public officer in their times; three of them lanky etc

But interestingly, they mean different things to different people. Some people will lay their lives for Sanusi, some for el-Rufai, and some for Ribadu.

It was this that interests me to seek your opinion on your perceptions of these guys with respect to the following criterias:

1, Integrity
2, Patriotism
3, Nationalism
4, Intellectual depth
5, Courage
6, Consistency

For me, SLS is different from the other 2. Reason been that he was lucky not to serve under OBJ. Ribadu's slect prosecution of percieved political enemies, el rufai's constant demolition of houses of percieved political enemies, all these will always dent their reputation. Inwardly though, i feel they are all good people and mean well for nigeria. Their patriotism is no doubt enviable, they've all had distinguished careers in their chosen fields of endeavors and their intelect not in question. They're all very courageous peeps.

Now, let me set the ball rolling with my own perception:

I will rank them based on these criterias and brief comments on the ranking

1, Integrity: Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: I find disturbing the revelation that some lands were allocated by el-Rufai to relatives

2, Patriotism: Ribadu>Sanusi>el-Rufai: Ribadu is very passionate about this country, and for singularly stopping Obj from installing Peter Odili, I see him as most patriotic;

3, Nationalism: Ribadu>el-Rufai>Sanusi: Sanusi identifies too much with his Fulani background, though not bad, but earns him my least mark.

4, Intellectual depth: Sanusi>el-Rufai>Ribadu: el-Rufai had a First in Qty Surveying from ABU, but hey, Sanusi, to me, is too deep to ignore. The guy is wide read and easily earns my top shot here.

5, Courage: Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: Tight one here. Sanusi fought banking cabals, Ribadu fought political cabals and el-Rufai bulldozed Abuja to masterplan, but I will give it to Sanusi because unlike a strongman Obj that supported the latter duo, SLS did not have a too strong presidential backing

6, Consistency Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: I have issue with Ribadu's association with Tinubu after calling him a thief of international dimension(or word to that effect); I'm not too comfortable with el-Rufai's changing statements too. SLS gets the prize here, for me. He walks his talk.

el rufai's constant demolition of houses of percieved political enemies

I disagree. He demolished the house of Ahmadu Ali, then PDP National Chair and Obasanjo's ally, too.

Jarus:

I disagree. He demolished the house of Ahmadu Ali, then PDP National Chair and Obasanjo's ally, too.

Well, how many of such can u count?

Ribadu

1, Integrity - Questionable and inconsistent , might largely not be personally corrupt but  . . . .
2, Patriotism  - Definitely a patriot
3, Nationalism - Again , i would say he is a nationalist
4, Intellectual depth - Lesser than the duo of SLS and Elrufai
5, Courage - 70% I would say because he lacked the courage to prosecute OBJs friends but had the courage to prosecute Ibori under Yaradua .

El Rufai

1,[b] Integrity - Again questionable as he cannot be said to be clean or not abused his office as a FCT head
2, Patriotism[/b] - Definitely a Patriot
3, Nationalism - A nationalist of repute
4, Intellectual depth - Amazing intellectual depth
5, Courage - 70% He is as courageous as it comes.

SLS

1, Integrity - He has a high degree of integrity and friends and foes always attest to that but this fuel subsidy wahala and the corrupt element surrounding him might make a dent
2, Patriotism - Definitely a patriot
3, Nationalism - A nationalist of repute
4, Intellectual depth- He his the highest of the 3 IMO. I have followed his writings since around 2001 and i havent found his match in public office
5, Courage - 90% courage, to tell the National assmembly to their face they are rogues is courage. To tell the president to drop 7 point agenda before senate confirmation on the floor of the house is courage and to go after established and celebrated bankers like he did is courage.

Jarus i presume you just added consistency

Sanusi
El Rufai
Ribadu

Sanusi has been saying the same thing since the 90s and he still maintains his posiion and ideology. El rufai only has about 8 years of public space 2003 - date although he was BPE director since 2000.

Ribadu is the least consistent IMO. His recent political experience revealed a lot about his person and it was indeed an expensive political gamble.

I will gladly accept any of d 3 as my next president.

One person does not belong in that triad. He is a fake intellectual and he is mindlessly corrupt. He is El Rufai.

Jarus:

Now, let me set the ball rolling with my own perception:

I will rank them based on these criterias and brief comments on the ranking

1, Integrity: Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: I find disturbing the revelation that some lands were allocated by el-Rufai to relatives

2, Patriotism: Ribadu>Sanusi>el-Rufai: Ribadu is very passionate about this country, and for singularly stopping Obj from installing Peter Odili, I see him as most patriotic;

3, Nationalism: Ribadu>el-Rufai>Sanusi: Sanusi identifies too much with his Fulani background, though not bad, but earns him my least mark.

4, Intellectual depth: Sanusi>el-Rufai>Ribadu: el-Rufai had a First in Qty Surveying from ABU, but hey, Sanusi, to me, is too deep to ignore. The guy is wide read and easily earns my top shot here.

5, Courage: Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: Tight one here. Sanusi fought banking cabals, Ribadu fought political cabals and el-Rufai bulldozed Abuja to masterplan, but I will give it to Sanusi because unlike a strongman Obj that supported the latter duo, SLS did not have a too strong presidential backing

6, Consistency Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: I have issue with Ribadu's association with Tinubu after calling him a thief of international dimension(or word to that effect); I'm not too comfortable with el-Rufai's changing statements too. SLS gets the prize here, for me. He walks his talk.

More or less correct except for courage. Sanusi , for me, and as much as I admired the guy, bottled it by going along with those arguing for subsidy removal instead of rising up to the challenge of telling Government to fight the corrupt element of subsidy Sanusi himself will surely know is hideously over-inflated.

I personally believe Ribadu would relish the chance to be let loose on the scammers. His nationalistic fervour means he would not want Nigerians to pay for the crimes of those he will believe are not untouchable (eg former IG Tafa Balogun). I think EL Rufai too would not want the scammers to get away unpunished because of the massive amount of money they have made off with that now places the onus of sacrifice at the door of Nigerians.

Consequently, Sanusi's consistency suffers because of this. He may, up to date, have spoken bravely but he shows distinct lack of consistency by not insisting Government fight the corruption that swelled subsidy by over N1 trillion above benchmark. That is simply a betrayal of trust for those of us who thought Sanusi, no matter what, will always be on the side of ordinary Nigerians and never abandon them.

IMO, overall, its Sanusi> el-rufai > ribadu

Gbawe:

More or less correct except for courage. Sanusi , for me, and as much as I admired the guy, bottled it by going along with those arguing for subsidy removal instead of rising up to the challenge of telling Government to fight the corrupt element of subsidy Sanusi himself will surely know is hideously over-inflated.

I personally believe Ribadu would relish the chance to be let loose on the scammers. His nationalistic fervour means he would not want Nigerians to pay for the crimes of those he will believe are not untouchable (eg former IG Tafa Balogun). I think EL Rufai too would not want the scammers to get away unpunished because of the massive amount of money they have made off with that now places the onus of sacrifice at the door of Nigerians.

Consequently, Sanusi's consistency suffers because of this. He may, up to date, have spoken bravely but he shows distinct lack of consistency by not insisting Government fight the corruption that swelled subsidy by over N1 trillion above benchmark. That is simply a betrayal of trust for those of us who thought Sanusi, no matter what, will always be on the side of ordinary Nigerians and never abandon them.

In as much as i disagree with SLS on the timing of the subsidy removal, in all fairness to him, SLS said on channels tv that the govt could have a phased apprach to subsidy removal and in the period aree to a set of deliverables of which it includes proesecuting the cabal and jailing them , after which full implementation if subsisdy removal could begin. He said he was speaking as a Nigerian and not public servant.

Jarus, you just present the best of Hausa/Fulani (el rufai is from Zaria) vis a vis Nigeria, They all have strong passion for the country. For me El-rufai is ahead of the two in term of Intellectual prowess, (SLS even confirm it), Sanusi will have the day when Integrity is the factor, while Ribadu will top when we consider the passion they have for the country. In short, it is difficult to call between the three.

I will sum up my comparison of the 3 with 3 stories:
1. Ribadu's time at EFCC was when Nigeria's top police officer was arrested, and JAILED. Good. But then where are we today? Corruption everywhere.
2. El-rufai's time at FCT was when he went on a demolition spree. He went about it in an arrogant manner, with unconfirmed stories of land allocation to his family. THAT is enough to question his integrity. Where are we today?
3. SLS said in a recent TV interview that he approved release of funds to fuel importers even though he SUSPECTED strongly that a fraud was taking place. Now that is really bad. In any sane country, he deserves to be sacked for that. Letting corruption pass your table is as good as aiding and abeting. If he had refused payment then and resigned if forced to sign, then I would have no issues with him. And, oh, he uses free fuel. For someone with grounded training in Islam, he should realise that for every litre of fuel he consumes unjustly, he is consuming fire into his belly. You may chose to define Unjust as you wish.

Summary: They are all intelligent men, honest to the standard of Nigeria(and that standard is very low) and hard working. However, they all have(had) an opportunity to prove themselves beyond doubt and they failed. Maybe the system caused their failure, but they certainly could have done better.
And they all have a tendency to become arrogant. Arrogance comes with undue public praise or perceived popularity. If only they can do what they are paid to do and leave the praise to their creator. Having said that, I think the new face of the North should not be these guys. There are more intelligent Northerners with higher integrity who are not allowed within the political arena.

Jarus:

Now, let me set the ball rolling with my own perception:

I will rank them based on these criterias and brief comments on the ranking

1, Integrity: Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: I find disturbing the revelation that some lands were allocated by el-Rufai to relatives

2, Patriotism: Ribadu>Sanusi>el-Rufai: Ribadu is very passionate about this country, and for singularly stopping Obj from installing Peter Odili, I see him as most patriotic;

3, Nationalism: Ribadu>el-Rufai>Sanusi: Sanusi identifies too much with his Fulani background, though not bad, but earns him my least mark.

4, Intellectual depth: Sanusi>el-Rufai>Ribadu: el-Rufai had a First in Qty Surveying from ABU, but hey, Sanusi, to me, is too deep to ignore. The guy is wide read and easily earns my top shot here.

5, Courage: Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: Tight one here. Sanusi fought banking cabals, Ribadu fought political cabals and el-Rufai bulldozed Abuja to masterplan, but I will give it to Sanusi because unlike a strongman Obj that supported the latter duo, SLS did not have a too strong presidential backing

6, Consistency Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: I have issue with Ribadu's association with Tinubu after calling him a thief of international dimension(or word to that effect); I'm not too comfortable with el-Rufai's changing statements too. SLS gets the prize here, for me. He walks his talk.

Pretty good Jarus, I concur with your rankings.

As for 2015, I'd want none of them to get the top job. Why? Because I'm now convinced more than ever that Nigeria needs justice more than any other thing and I'm not sure any of them is mature enough or in the right position in life to provide it.

Personally I'd love if Buhari took another swing.

Ola-pluto, by then Buhari may not have the phsical stamina for the office, just as you said, one of the three will make a good president.

Joey82:

For me, SLS is different from the other 2. Reason been that he was lucky not to serve under OBJ. Ribadu's slect prosecution of percieved [/b]political enemies, el rufai's constant demolition of houses of [b]percieved political enemies, all these will always dent their reputation. Inwardly though, i feel they are all good people and mean well for nigeria. Their patriotism is no doubt enviable, they've all had distinguished careers in their chosen fields of endeavors and their intelect not in question. They're all very courageous peeps.

when you say perceived can you please name or tell me any innocent person that was prosecuted or whose house was demolished? Thanks

I will also prefer a Buhari to any of them, for maturity and experience.

Why do Nigerians keep looking for heroes?
Why can't we judge people based on their deeds, and not their words?

As far as I'm concerned, none of the three have achieved anything noteworthy. Rather, they've been beneficiaries of the Nigerian system, occupied positions for which they were not the best qualified, and did not make their mark by leaving any lasting legacy. It's all talk, talk, and more talk.

Sad country

Sanusi lamido sanusi is d man to beat.

Jarus:

I will also prefer a Buhari to any of them, for maturity and experience.

What about for justice sake? Like I said earlier I believe that if Nigerians do not get justice, and get it soon, I honestly believe we will not be talking about a "Nigeria" in the not too distant future.

samstradam:

What about for justice sake? Like I said earlier I believe that if Nigerians do not get justice, and get it soon, I honestly believe we will not be talking about a "Nigeria" in the not too distant future.

Exactly.
We need someone that can provide justice, equality, and hope to many broken citizens, from every part of the country. So far, Buhari seems to be the only saint around. He's never been a businessman, he was an exemplary public servant, and he has lived his life above board. He has no airs, he isn't pretentious, and he does not associate with the usual crowd.

They are thesame family.

@olawaleb
Thought El-rufai is from Katsina?

AjanleKoko:

Why do Nigerians keep looking for heroes? Cos we aint got enough good men in govtWhy can't we judge people based on their deeds, and not their words? Most dont last long in govt to leave a mark, so we have few deed and plenty words

As far as I'm concerned, none of the three have achieved anything noteworthy. Rather, they've been beneficiaries of the Nigerian system, occupied positions for which they were not the best qualified, and did not make their mark by leaving any lasting legacy. It's all talk, talk, and more talk.

Sad country

@ Dis Guy, he's from Zaria city in Kaduna state.

Dis Guy:

_{would be interesting to read the Igbo equivalent, yoruba equivalent (those in government)}

Don't know about the Igbos but in Yorubaland this a sad era for political leadership.

There is obviously no living old school political leader that can even be compared with Buhari; and here I mean as someone the masses truly admire and will follow.

As for the yuppies like Sanusi and co, we have a few, with the most prominent obviously being Fashola, but it's safe to say no self respecting Yorubaman would lose a hair for someone whose actions have shown him to be nothing more than a glorified houseboy. Anyway I'm not sure any Northern Youth would lose hair over Sanusi and co either.

I guess it's just that political leaders in Nigeria do not understand the worth of sacrifice, and as long as Buhari remains the only leader who's been there, done that and still lives like a middle class civil servant, he'll continue to get the true empathy, respect and love of the people.

Intellectually, El-Rufai is by far the most intelligent and even Sanusi accepted that El-Rufai is not his intellectual match. You can check his record, a 1st class from ABU and a Harvard alumnus. He is not as talkative as Sanusi but he is more intelligent. To me Ribadu is not in their league at all. Ribadu's performances at the presidential debates last year were disappointing.

Politically though, Sanusi has it. He is from a royal family and has all the networks. El-Rufai's father died at 8 and he was brought up by an uncle. Sanusi is really where he is today mainly due to his background. He was promoted from Senior Manager in UBA to CEO of First bank within nine years. That does not come from genius. That's politics. And Sanusi can jail bank MDs without any questions because of his political background.

As I said, Sanusi and El-Rufai are intellectuals but I will not put Ribadu in that league at all.