A Troubling Fixation       
Nasir El-Rufai 
Written by Nasir El-Rufai     
Monday, 12 October 2009 23:16 
A Troubling Fixation

By Nasir El-Rufai

Below is the President’s directives against Nuhu Ribadu and I


When I had informed the world that the administration of President Umar Musa Yar’adua was behind the decision of the Nigerian High Commission in The United Kingdom to deny me a new Nigerian Passport (which as at the last time I checked was a fundamental right, not a privilege of every Nigerian) there were strident denials from Abuja and Aso Rock the sit of government. I was called a liar, and the administration trumpeted its rule of law mantra as a reason why it would never do such. My readers would remember that I had in the past said that this ‘rule of law’ position of this administration was nothing but a ruse with which to blind fold the Nigerian public while shielding monstrously corrupt people from the law and attacking innocent persons. Of course again I was insulted and called a liar by the President himself, his Attorney General and his motley crowd of hangers on.

Well, since the administration has opened the door by denying that it never ordered that I should be denied my right of a Nigerian passport, I want to provide proof to the whole world so we can know once and for all, who is the liar. I have included in this piece, a letter from the Nigerian National Intelligence Agency as well as another from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which proves that President Yar’adua himself in a bid to settle scores with me gave the instruction which was unwillingly carried out by the Nigerian High Commission’s staff.

My readers can now see that while notoriously corrupt persons like former governor James Ibori and his ilk hold sway as powerful members of the kitchen cabinet of President Yar’adua the so called rule of law mantra of this administration has been used to damage Nigeria’s National interest by denying reputable foreign law enforcement bodies such as the London Metropolitan police the cooperation of their Nigerian counterparts in the investigation of the president’s cronies. The fellow who opens the president’s mails, which are the most confidential and classified documents in Nigeria, a certain David Edevbie, who is President Yar’adua’s Principal Private Secretary and who used to be James Ibori’s Commissioner for Finance has been named in indictments in the United Kingdom as an alleged money launderer along with other alleged criminal acts. However, the EFCC under the direction of the President and his Attorney General has chosen to look the other way while doing all within its power to hound Nuhu Ribadu and I, who are two people who did all within our power to make sure that Umaru Musa Yar’adua emerges as president of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, while the president fixates on Nuhu and I, Nigeria continues to drift. The huge reserves that were left by the economic management team of the previous administration of which Nuhu and I were pillars have been dwindled.

At a time when the president should have been focused on attending the United Nations General Assembly, he allowed his inferiority complex (which is the main reason he has made it a pattern to destroy his benefactors) to lead to cold feet and rather than mingling with world leaders to lobby for Nigeria’s seat at the U.N Security Council, he chose to go to Saudi Arabia to open a University at a time while universities in his country have been closed for 3 months.

At a time when Nigerians are scratching their heads in confusion due to James Ibori’s media interviews were he proudly boast of his abilities to install Inspector Generals of police and influence the judiciary, the president is completely insensitive to the national security implications of a double convict having such powers.

As I end this, I want to urge President Yar’adua to forget about his fixation on Nuhu and I and fix his gaze on Nigeria. Nigerians have been patient enough and they know that the reason for their sufferings are not with Nuhu Ribadu or Nasir El’rufai but with an administration that promised to declare an emergency on power but whose only emergency has been the emergency of containing the imaginary enemies of an insecure leader who found himself in a position as a result of our Beneficient Creator who used a man who never forgot the loyatly and respect shown him by the late Tafida, Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’adua, a man with enough sagacity to remember those he met on his way up knowing that he will also meet them on his way down. President Yar’adua may wish to remember the proverb that those whose kola nuts have been broken for them by a benevolent spirit ought to be appreciative.


http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/nasir-el-rufai/a-troubling-fixation.html

When I had informed the world that the administration of President Umar Musa Yar’adua was behind the decision of the Nigerian High Commission in The United Kingdom to deny me a new Nigerian Passport (which as at the last time I checked was a fundamental right, not a privilege of every Nigerian)

It could be anyones turn, pls watch out.

MrCrackles:

But why are they denying the guy an international passport

Abuse of power . Pure and simple. Yar Adua is a very vengeful chap. He will abuse his position to settle scores. Yar Adua would have been sanctioned severely long ago if we had an uncompromised and vibrant national assembly . Na today Yar Adua don dey act like dis ?

Gbawe:

Abuse of power . Pure and simple. Yar Adua is a very vengeful chap. He will abuse his position to settle scores. Yar Adua would have been sanctioned severely long ago if we had an uncompromised and vibrant national assembly . Na today Yar Adua don dey act like dis ?

Has it been up to two weeks that me and you were making the point that Yar'adua is more of a dictator than Obasanjo.

But unfortunately Yar'adua and his handlers are not very smart

Nigeria needs intelligence experts and spin doctors of the 21st century.

The idea that a President of any country just wakes up from sleep an decides that a Nigerian by birth and ancestry is no longer a Nigerian is very
UN-21st Century. it is very frightening, shameful and embarassing.

The reason this is not a very smart move is:

1. If El-Rufai needed to show any proof that he is being targeted for political persecution he has just been given one through this Presidential memo and that could mean express granting of assylum. The scary bit is we may have come to a point where El-Rufai could actually present direct Presidential memos to Internal affairs ministries of Foreign Government to prove his case for political assylum if he wants one.
Talk about a Government undermining its own authority in the eyes of the internation community, someone should tell these guys that they are in a hole all they need to do is to stop digging.

Now this Government simply have no choice. The only way they can invalidate this memo circulating over the internet is if El-Rufai gets a passport within the next one week.

2. If El-Rufai needed any proof to show to the courts that his life is in danger if he ventures into Nigeria to attend to any court summons, the Federal Government has just provided him with a clear document and official proof.
Any High Court Judge who can not consider this alongside the recent illegal detention of the El-Rufai family at the airport and factor all of these into recent happenings in the country must be living in pluto.

There is now an official document showing that El-Rufai's life is not safe in Nigeria.


Finally I think Nigeria and its Government needs spin doctors and politicians of the digital age. SPIN has evolved from bare faced lies to half truths.
The Kind of lies our Government tells in this day and age just shows they are not in tune with the times we live it.
It is just plain childish.

mikeansy:

. . .
Nigeria needs intelligence experts and spin doctors of the 21st century.
. . .
Finally I think Nigeria and its Government needs spin doctors and politicians of the digital age. SPIN has evolved from bare faced lies to half truths.
The Kind of lies our Government tells in this day and age just shows they are not in tune with the times we live it.
It is just plain childish.

No way o! It is better that a govt as wicked and corrupt as the present one should only emply PR buffoons. It saves lives.

Abeg d man don achieve a lot. [size=8pt]He granted amnesty now[/size]

mikeansy:


Now this Government simply have no choice. The only way they can invalidate this memo circulating over the internet is if El-Rufai gets a passport within the next one week.

2. If El-Rufai needed any proof to show to the courts that his life is in danger if he ventures into Nigeria to attend to any court summons, the Federal Government has just provided him with a clear document and official proof.
Any High Court Judge who can not consider this alongside the recent illegal detention of the El-Rufai family at the airport and factor all of these into recent happenings in the country must be living in pluto.

There is now an official document showing that El-Rufai's life is not safe in Nigeria.


Finally I think Nigeria and its Government needs spin doctors and politicians of the digital age. SPIN has evolved from bare faced lies to half truths.
The Kind of lies our Government tells in this day and age just shows they are not in tune with the times we live it.
It is just plain childish.   

Absolutely on the button !!!! Sometimes I think Yar Adua , with the type of easily debunked lies his Government tells , has to rank very high as one of the World's worst politicians. The man simply stinks at politics !!!!! He treats Nigerian like he is dealing with 'almajeris' and 'area boys' !!!!! Personally I am tired of him. No Nigerian Government , not even our dreaded Military dictatorships of the past ,  have denied even their worst enemies a Nigerian Passport !!!!! Yar Adua simply has to go.

Someone mentioned , albeit in jest ,  the ND amnesty as an achievement of Yar Adua. For the record I personally think the amnesty excercise is insincere. I think Yar Adua is simply attempting to buy more time for the uninterrupted accumulation of wealth ( from oil sales) needed to massively rig the 2011 elections !!!! Anyone that thinks Yar Adua will develop the ND region only need to look at the man's many broken promises to Nigerians most notably a pledge to declare a "state of emergency" on power supply.

even Osama bin Laden cannot be denied a passport by his country!

Haba Nigeria Govt.

Why did they refuse him international passport they just want to ruined this guy

but why is Yar'adua specially interested in getting el-Rufai

Just another demonstration of our irresponsible leadership

El-rufai stepped on so many big toes during his reign as the Minister of the FCT. Now, his enemies want their pound of flesh.

Dora and co   and all the president's men have failed. They have given El Rufa'i  the
golden opportunity to re-brand Yar'adu'a . Pity, Pity

Blimey!

Is it really possible for one to be so lacking in tact and wisdom? And equally this easy to surround oneself with praise singing sycophants? It would have been so very simple and more effective to diffuse the strenght of his percieved enemies by leaving them alone than arming them with juvenile antics like denial of passports!  

Mr Nasir El-Rufai pls shut up!!! I was a resident of Abuja when u bared ur dictatorial fangs on innocent and defenceless people all in the name of returning Abuja to its original masterplan. Yes there were many cases of outright disregard for town planning laws and outright encrouchment of right of ways and roads and we all supported you in restoring the beautiful city. But U also derailed with the active connivance of ur 'god' at Aso rock. Though I wasnt a victim, but there were numerous instances were u disobeyed the courts and carried out ur nefarious activities. Some of those land u took from hapless citizens claiming they were blocking drainages and channels were later re-allocated to 'correct people' by none other but urself.
I know for sure that if u guys were still in power and the tables were turned, u and ur govt would do worse or were u not a part of the govt that hounded Atiku nearly to his grave? were u not there when ur principal nearly crippled Lagos(a federating unit) because of the seizure of Lagos state funds even after the highest court in the land termed the seizure illegal? wht happened at BPE? we know these things. Ibori is corrupt and so are many others in this present Govt, even Yar'adua is corrupt but stop shouting at the roof top cos u are definitely not a saint and most definitely not qualified to talk. U and ur fellow campaigner along with these people i mentioned above and countless others both in the present govt and past govts are the problem of Nigeria. Pls stop crying over spilt milk.

Utaroz:

You may have a point, but does the offence he was alleged to have committed warrant stripping him of his citizenship?

Next thing now is to claim assylum.
Let him (and Ribadu) claim that the government is persecuting him and he will be granted assylum.

This is an irony of life.Whenever OBJ infringed on someone right or liberty during his second term, it was the same El-Rufai and co that would come out to defend such illegality. Now that history has caught up with him, let him keep quiet and stop disturbing us with his plight. Was he not the same person that sold the ‘crawling servant leader’ with reckless abandon?

Dora and co   and all the president's men have failed. They have given El Rufa'i  the
golden opportunity to re-brand Yar'adu'a . Pity, Pity

El-rufai stepped on so many big toes during his reign as the Minister of the FCT. Now, his enemies want their pound of flesh.

But Nigeria passport is a fundamental human right of El-Rufai not a privilege.

@ WALATA 44 word!

I have zero tolerance for corruption and injustice.

El Rufai does not derserve any pity from any of us. This is sb they put in charge of FCT and he used his office and power to impoverish the struggling Nigerians.

What did he not do. Demolishing and realocating plots just to settle political scores.
Tufiakwa! El Rufai is an abomination.

I am not saying he shld be denied a Nig. Pass, But he gets no sympathy from me.

He ran away from giving account of his stewardship and to evade justice. He shld remain there.  

If we really want a better country to live in, we should not condone the action of Yar Adua for denying a citizen of Nigeria a passport. What about the rule of law? no matter what offence this guy must have committed, he still have right of a Nigerian passport.

but wait oo pple would he and / or ribadu be sent back frm where they r if their visa or passport expires _{dat na die for them ooo}  

nethacker:

but wait oo pple would he and / or ribadu be sent back frm where they r if their visa or passport expires _{dat na die for them ooo}  

they wont cos they will be granted asylum and protected under UN convention as stateless persons,since Nigeria has rejected them

What goes round comes around. El Rufai deserves the treatment he's getting now and much more.

However, the EFCC under the direction of the President and his Attorney General has chosen to look the other way while doing all within its power to hound Nuhu Ribadu and I, who are two people who did all within our power to make sure that Umaru Musa Yar’adua emerges as president of Nigeria.

I think it is interesting that El Rufai said that. What exactly did they do to make sure he got into power? Sounds like he just admitted that he and Nuhu were part of the rigging that brought Yar Adua into power.

By the way, i have no beef for El Rufai, but i think he was a  little bit ruthless as the FCT minister

It is amazing (in fact VERY APPALLING) that Hell-Rufai is receiving anybody's sympathy on this matter. He, himself, wrote that he is one of the major actors that foisted Non-perfoming Yar'Adua on this nation. If he and Ribadu had been upright enough we probably would have better performing (though corrupt) head of state.

The evil El-Rufai and Ribadu help made is dealing out his stock-in-trade out on them now and they are complaining. The duo would have been Yar'Adua's apologists if some other innocent Nigerian was at the receiving end of the president's assaults.

Honeslty i dont fancy el rufai in the least as he his just a loud mouth and part and parcle of the OBJ failed 3rd term agenda. Anyone remember Bayo Ojo ? Yaradua unfortunaletly through foolish and childish measures is giving this guy undue and unneccassary popularity and making him gain people's sympathy. I dont think yaradua has smart politicians round him in the least.