₦airaland Forum

stormm:
Did Fayemi build the hospital? Yes he DID.

Did Fayose build a poultry? No he DID not. Was money expended on a phantom poultry project? YES

Fayose & Ekiti= Pointless drama

Actually, the hospital was designed and built by Segun Oni . Work was in progress until oni left in 2010. Fayemi only complete d roofing ( which was started in 2010 by on I) during campaign period . It was painted and commissioned by fayemi after election. Apart from that main building, there are other four buildings inside that bush. They are still on d same level as oni left them four years ago.
Truth is, d 300 bed capacity hospital is without a bed.

U need to see where this station is situated. Too risky to be there. Right from foundation, people have been complaining about d filling station. It was partitioned from a land housing a residential building. It is in-between residential houses. Let's leave sentiment or politics aside, that location is odd for a filling station.
Let's be reminded that fayose detest locating filling stations in odd places. He closed down Rich Mond filling station during his first term. He fought some Igbo guys to a standstill when they were erecting a filling station at Dallimore street- a residential area.
I'm not holding piece for any politician. I'm just commenting from onlooker side.

What goes around, comes around. Fayemi did same against Oni when he assumed office in 2010

Check this out : www.nairaland.com/547166/inherited-n30bn-debt-fayemi

[UPDATE]
The court has stopped the bye-election in the
state and ordered the swearing-in of Ngilari.
Details later…
—————————————————————–
A Federal High Court in Abuja is delivering
judgment in a suit filed by a former Deputy
Governor of Adamawa State, Mr. Bala Ngilari,
urging the court to declare his resignation from
office on July 15, 2014, invalid, null and void.
Among the issues the court, presided over by
Justice Adeniyi Ademola, is to determine is
whether or not to order Ngilari be sworn in as the
governor of the state.
Justice Ademola is also to determine whether or
not to stop the bye-election slated for Saturday.

source: WWW.punchng.com

The All Progressives Congress has vowed not to
allow strangers to take over Ekiti State.
Its Chairman in the state, Chief Jide Awe, said
during the state Congress in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday,
that the party had “men and women of honour who
are going to be at the vanguard of this struggle” to
upturn the emergence of Mr. Ayodele Fayose of the
Peoples Democratic Party as the state governor-
elect.
Awe, who was returned as chairman after eight
years in office, said, “This is our land. The land of
the progressives, We won’t allow any stranger to
take it from us.
“The struggle for emancipation of Ekiti State has
just started. I know we have men and women of
honour who are going to be at the vanguard of this
struggle. We at the head of the struggle will not
shack in our responsibility.”
He however did not name those he described as
strangers.
Governor Kayode Fayemi, who was represented by
his deputy, Prof. Modupe Adelabu, said he was
optimistic that the APC would “overtake and
recover “ the state from the PDP.
He however appealed to opposition parties in the
state to stop fighting over APC’s petition at the
election petitions tribunal.
Fayemi said, “The APC is getting stronger. The
party is on the ground, effectively, efficiently and
absolutely. From what I have witnessed, we still
have a firm grip of the state.”
In a veiled reference to the PDP, the governor
pointed out there was no reason for anyone, group
or party to fight “if you don’t have skeleton in your
cupboard.”
He said, “The tribunal will be an opportunity for
everybody to prove we have an authentic result. I
wonder why people don’t want the tribunal to sit.
This shows we should put our mind to rest. In our
pursuit, we are going to overtake, we are going to
recover.”
Chief Sam Jaja, the leader of the national
delegation which supervised the congress,
congratulated the newly-elected APC officers in
the state. Describing them as committed people,
he added, “You are not cowards. I know that come
2015, you will come out with your supporters to
vote enmasse for the APC.”
The new officers include Kemi Olaleye, deputy
chairman; Paul Omotosho, state secretary;
Gbenga Agbeyo, assistant secretary; Sola
Omolayo, treasurer; Taiwo Olatubosun, publicity
secretary; Femi Ogundana, Youth leader; Iyabo
Babatunde, Auditor and Ronke Okusanya,
Woman Leader.
But Fayose, through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr.
Idowu Adelusi, said the APC leaders were only
deceiving themselves.
He said, “The APC leaders, especially, in Ekiti State
are only deceiving themselves. If they think they
are progressives, they are not because they are
pretenders. They are wolves in sheep skin. PDP
has won in Ekiti State; so, the APC should forget it.
“I want the Ekiti APC to know that by 2015, APC will
exist only in name, especially in this state. It will
have no structure because its members would
have defected to the PDP.
“We are going to do this with landmark projects.
Laudable programmes to be embarked upon by
Fayose would make them to defect. For them to be
saying they will recover Ekiti is just an imagination.
They are daydreaming; it will never come to
reality. For the next 50 years, APC will not come
back to Ekiti State.”
Also, the state PDP Publicity Secretary, Kola
Oluwawole, said it was wrong for progressives
that make up the PDP in the state to be referred to
as strangers
He said, “We don’t have any trouble with the
tribunal because the election was free and fair.
What we are complaining against is the procedure
adopted by the judge in the case by the Ekiti 11.
“On the contrary, we (PDP) are the progressives.
APC members in the state are not progressives;
they are retrogressives. If they are progressives,
they will know how to accept defeat.”
Tension mounts in Ekiti as police beef up security
There was still tension in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday as
news of a reprisal by suspected members of the
Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria
spread in the city.
The state chairman of the National Union of Road
Transport Workers, Mr. Omolafe Aderiye, a
staunch supporter of Fayose, was killed last
Thursday by persons believed to be political thugs.
His death caused the violence that led to the
burning down of the residence of a former state
chairman of the RTEAN, Mr. Rotimi Olabiwonu and
five vehicles belonging to him by people yet to be
identified on Friday.
The threat of reprisal is coming on the heels of a
fresh allegation by the PDP that the APC had
concluded plans to import thugs from Lagos.
But the APC said the allegation was a figment of
the imagination of the PDP.
Aderiye, a staunch supporter of Fayose, was
considered as a rival to Olabiwonu, a Fayemi
loyalist.
The news of an imminent reprisal attack by the
RTEAN members made motorists and commuters
to avoid the Ajilosun area of Ado-Ekiti.
Police have however beefed up security around
Ajilosun, Ijigbo, Old Garage , Fajuyi Park and
Ojumose junctions which are considered the
flashpoints of the city.
About 10 pick-up vans carrying riot policemen and
soldiers were seen moving towards the areas
which were taken over by RTEAN members.
The PDP, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary
in the state, Kola Oluwawole, on Sunday called on
security agencies to be on the lookout for
troublemakers.
It said, “Only last Monday, we raised the alarm that
the APC had commissioned some people to attack
PDP leaders and were threatening PDP leaders,
some people said we were only raising false alarm.
But three days later, Chief Aderiye, a leader of the
PDP in Ado-Ekiti was killed.
“We have it on good authority that the APC has
commissioned thugs coming in four 18-seater
buses to Ekiti. They were said to have left Lagos
around 11pm on Saturday. They were armed with
acid, cutlasses, guns, sledge hammers, syringes
and other dangerous weapons to harm the people
of Ekiti State.
“These thugs will appear in PDP vests and fez
caps to execute their dastardly act within one
month.
“Certainly, they are likely to have arrived in Ekiti by
now. They will move about on motorcycles to
execute their dastardly act.
“Ekiti people who gave their mandate to Fayose
are their targets and as well the PDP members.
The APC thugs are on a revenge mission to avenge
the defeat of Fayemi in the June 21 election and
for aborting last Monday’s judicial coup.
“Ekiti people are enjoined to be vigilant and to
report any strange element to the police.”
The state Police Command had earlier said it had
received “an intelligence report that some
hooligans within the state and their accomplices
outside the state are planning to wreak more
havoc and disrupt further, the existing fragile
peace in the state.”
In a statement by its Public Relations Officer,
Victor Babayemi, entitled “Mayhem and threat to
peace in Ekiti, “ the command said it had placed
its men on the red alert to prevent bandits from
carrying out nefarious activities in the state.
It said, “The state Commissioner of Police, Taiwo
Lakanu, has ordered the deployment of adequate
manpower to embark on extensive vehicle and foot
patrols on every nook and cranny of the state.
“He has equally directed that policemen should
henceforth embark on thorough search of vehicles
and pedestrians so as to forestall importation of
dangerous weapons.
“In view of the current happenings in the state, the
Commissioner of Police wishes to warn that any
person or group of persons that have no lawful
business in the state to stay away.
“He further warned that the full weight of the law
will be visited on any individual or group fomenting,
aiding or abetting the commission of crime in any
part of the state.”
The command said it had been empowered to
enforce the dusk to dawn curfew and therefore
warned residents to abide very strictly with the
order.”
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Nigerian Bar
Association in Ilesa, Osun State, Mr. Olayinka
Sokoya, has condemned the attack on judges and
lawyers in Ekiti State.
Sokoya, in an interview with one of our
correspondents in Osogbo on Sunday, advised that
those who sponsored the attacks should be
punished.
He said that it was disheartening that a judge could
be so attacked on the premises of a court while
security agents watched without taking action.
While condemning the police and other security
agencies for allowing attacks on the court twice
within a week, he said those behind the attacks
should not be allowed to go unpunished.
Sokoya said, “court is regarded as a sacred place
but thugs with the backing of their political fathers
have violated its sacredness and they should be
punished.
“Security should be beefed up at the premises of
every court, not only in Ekiti State. What some
hoodlums did in Ekiti State could be repeated
elsewhere if security is not tight around the
courts.”
A magistrate at the Osun State Judiciary, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, also condemned
the attack on the judges and lawyers in Ekiti State.
The magistrate said that perpetrators must be
brought to justice.
He said, “ As far as I am concerned, this is a bad
signal for our democracy. If there is a dispute
between two political actors, the best step to take
is to approach the court. But a situation where the
court is no longer safe should be a concern to
everybody.”
According to him, judges may be afraid of sitting if
there is no adequate security for them especially
inside the courts.
Also, the APC in Osun State has linked the attack
on the judiciary in Ekiti State to President Goodluck
Jonathan’s alleged second term bid.
The party, in a statement by its Director of
Publicity, Research and Strategy in the state, Mr.
Kunle Oyatomi, also described Fayose as the
arrowhead of the Peoples Democratic Party’s
alleged plan to execute the President’s plan.
It accused him of being behind the attack on the
Ekiti High Court, an action it believed posed a
grave danger to the nation’s democracy.
The statement read, “The fact that Federal
Government security officials stood by and
watched while Fayose and his rampaging horde of
thugs were beating up a judge and hurling objects
at lawyers is a clear indication that the PDP is
complicit.
“It is imperative not only that Fayose and his thugs
should be made accountable, everything should be
done to let President Jonathan realise that no
Federal Government has ever survived by creating
anarchy in the South-West.
“The earlier this lesson is learnt by the Jonathan
administration, the better for democracy in Nigeria.
“Fayose should be closely watched because he
appears to represent PDP’s game plan of using the
rule of the jungle to capture and sustain itself in
power. Fayose is possibly the arrowhead of that
strategy in the South West.”
But the Osun State branch of the PDP accused
the APC in the state of planning to commit arson by
using thugs who would disguise as members of the
PDP.
The Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP in
the state, Mr. Diran Odeyemi, added that the APC
was planning to cause massive crisis just like the
one in Ekiti State in order to stop the Election
Petition Tribunal from sitting.
Odeyemi, in a statement said, “ We are constrained
to alert the general public to an ongoing plot by the
APC to forment trouble in Osun State and blame it
on the PDP. We have it on good authority that the
Government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has
perfected plans to commit arson through its agents
who will disguise as members of the PDP.”
The magistrate added, “It is barbaric and
everybody should speak against it. The society
would descend into anarchy if judges, lawyers as
well as litigants are no longer safe in the court.
“Security should be beefed up in all court across
the nation because this kind of barbaric behaviour
has the tendency to spread if those behind it are
not the quickly brought to justice.
“Judges are human beings and they don’t have
spare lives, many of us could stop sitting if we feel
unsafe.

source: http://www.punchng.com/news/well-recover-ekiti-from-pdp-says-fayemi/

I don't believe this is coming from a governor-elect. It depict illogicality both in structures and composition.
At least, he has a media consultant who is a professional. How will a release be in block letters? The source needs to be investigated.
If I am being proved wrong, then, I shake my head.

JayJohnson: These PDP are obviously bad losers, when Fayemi lost in Ekiti, did the heaven fell? Because the corn-eating murderer has now lost the guber election and rejected in Osun state, the egocentric PDP cannot manage this, I suggest the PDP should go and read John Maxwell's book - Failing Forward. So if their inept and clueless master lose the general election (which he is bound to loose) in 2015, we must be ready for war? PDP, go get a life. The broom is waiting to sweep you away in 2015!!!

APC is still in court over Ekiti election which fayemi lost.

All hail emperor Sullivan chime

mencade5: my brother am happy for you and this marriage of yours ooo. So this was how your ex lose correct husband like you eh? Chaiii...like in my own case, i gave her hidden ultimatum of 3 months. Which will expire august 10, after that na to proceed to a new lady. She is still forming stubborn lady. We hardly see, but resides in the same city.

I waited for more than 6 months. families interceded but insisted the apology be done by me. That has been her usual practice. Always making me to apologize even when she is at fault.

mencade5: my brother its true you are right. One offended me like that ooo, still she doesnt want to come and apologise. She is still waiting for me to after her. Nonsense mentality!

This is what my ex did this after our introduction ceremony and it stopped our wedding arrangement. I got bored and in the process met my wife. we got married within 8 months after. We are happily married for 4 years now with 2 kids. "miss come and beg me' is still searching . Nobody is indispensable

busuyem: So these are the people Fayose is planning to sack, right? If not, tell me when the proposed illegal employees were recruited. Just tell me their figures and how they were employed b4 their appointment letters were backdated. U don't knw what Fayose was insinuating, I think.

You need some elementary training in English language. Basically, direct and indirect speech. This will do you some good.

busuyem: And u believed all this? Actually, u're distant from analytical reasoning which makes it evident that u don't leave in Ekiti. See, how can 3000 people be just given employement letters in secrecy in Ekiti without the knwledge of the people therein? At least if u're not the beneficiary, ur friend will be or ur friends' friends. I stay in Ekiti and I can tell u the recruitment processes that have been done till date, and due process was followed even though we can't deny the fact that long-legging still has its role in Nigerian recruitment processes. Fayemi recruitted over 1000 teachers under the world bank affiliated programme and issued them appointment letters dated 02/01/2014 and he also recruited over 2000 civil servants servants around April this year. We all saw this. Forms were collected and exams and inteview were conducted b4 the jobs placement started. I knw friends who were employed thru each of the recruitment processes. So, tell me, how on earth Fayemi will suddenly or secretly employ people and people will not knw this? I just dey laff. Did u even ask urself what Fayose meant when he said the so-caleed employees were given backdated appointment letters? Indirectly, he's talking about this same people who purchased recruitment forms, sat for aptitude tests, did interviews, and later were fortunate to be free from the bondage of unemployment. Now by the time he starts sacking them, he will be telling the whole world that they were recruited illegally with backdated appointment letters. How do u want these supposedly illegal employees(in Fayose's voice) pray for him? How do u want the civil servant leaders who signed the appointment due to the order from above wish Fayose well? Do you think all the families of the employed will start planning for Fayose's future now? How do u want those that have been working for the past 7 months, who have resigned from their private firms jobs, who have gone to churches and mosques to give testimonies, to be happenly when suddenly handed over sacked letters to? To me, Fayose still needs to briddle his tongue. well, I will recline in mu chair and how plans to use the last chance God is giving him in Ekiti. To my Ekiti people, I pray u don't regret ur choice.

Hin Okun oooooooo.....

Your inability to comprehend simple passive statements shows your level of analytical reasoning. Those words are fayose's not mine. FYI, I am addicted to ekiti that I haven't travel out it this year.
cross check your figures with relevant authorities. only 334 were employed into civil service. The chairman of the state civil service commission said this on air last week. 267 teachers were employed. This is verifiable in TESCOM.

He said he had it on good authority that the state govt is recruiting massively but secretly (3000 into civil service and 1000 in EKSU). Vacancies were not advertised, application not done, interview not conducted,yet BACK DATED appointment letter were being offer to cronies of politicians and top civil servant. According to him, some civil servants are aiding politicians to perfect this fraud. He therefore warned civil servants not to allow politicians to truncate their career as he won't hesitate to sack civil servant involved in the fraud. He said further that the move is to create problem for his govt.

@op, stop misleading the public

It is imperative for the state govt to clarify issues. Is road projects commissioned as 'completed' in 2012 by the state govt part of the projects penciled in the new bond proposal? Has the state govt ever claimed Ire Block Industry has been resusitated b4? If yes, why is the same project part of the new deal?
The public has to be educated so that they could well informed and guilded.

The truth is nobody will fight 4u. The NLC,NCC and the rest will only lead you to more trouble. The best you can do here is to employ moral suasion approach such as dialogue,negotiation and passionate appeal for better pay and working conditions.
This is how it all started at MTN Jos Call Centre. Some staff cried to NLC,NCC,NUPTE,state govt,national assembly,civil societies and the media for help against inhumane treatment melted on them by the outsourced company,CNSSL. Initially, they responded well and this increased d staff hope that a positive change was around the corner. Midway, the so-called supporters especially NLC left d staff at the mercy of the company(I guess money has exchanged hands).The company boldly sacked 1700 in one day and nothing happened. I must let u know that hundreds of these staff are yet to get another job. It is almost two year now.
Morals of my epistle
1. Nobody is ready to fight 4u except their pocket
2. Never be too aggressive but diplomatic
3. Jobs outside there is not easy to come by except thru d grace of God

There is money and good returns in transport business(only if you are ready to work hard and be focus).
After my NYSC,I bought a second hand Toyota Tercel@120k and became a taxi driver. Averagely,I made 18k per week and 70k monthly. I ensure i saved at least 50k monthly. Within 10 months, i have already had 520k, which i used to purchase tokunbo golf 3 for the same business purpose. I sold d Tercel for 100k when it clocked a year with me.
I have made close to 400k(8 months) with d Golf when I got a job. Then, I got it repainted and sold it for 390k. I must confess that those monies realised were d architect of my house today.
To make it in the business:1) be ready to work hard 2. Focus by setting a target for yourself. 3. Have a separate saving account for profit and vehicle maintenance/overhead(where expenditure is greater than money saved, don't dip into the profit account but borrow, then use subsequent overhead savings to pay back). 4. Strategise. 5. Be humane, polite and friendly with passengers cos that will fetch you corporate passengers who pay better

neksummi: Abi o. If Abuja-Nyanya road is classified as a bad road then I wonder how many good roads we have in Nigeria.

I guess he has not be opportuned to see the road yet he want to comment about it

This might sound unpleasant,NYSC was a blessing to me.Good PPA with good pay(experience and wealth),free accommodation plus federal alawi with Tolu,who satisfy my body and soul with needed foods. All totalling into first car which i run as a taxi for 14 months b4 gotten a job. If this is what NYSC represents to all corpers,I'll eagerly endorsed the two years. But if otherwise,it should be rejected

Guy, u 'over-talked' Ekiti development. For your information,Ekiti state was created out of Ondo state in 1996. This implies further that the state was just 8years when u claimed to have served there. You shouldn't expect a state of 8years old to be developed as the first,second or third generation states. Besides,it is a rural and agrian state which lack infrastructural,industrial and economic development from its source(ondo state).
Though,it is an agreeable fact that pace of development is slow but it is quite different from backwardness. Backwardness means going back or not meeting to expected standard.
Ekiti is developing. For a tip of the iceberg, as at the time you were there,no dualised road was on ground. Now, the state capital and some other neighbouring towns have dual carriage roads. Thanks to past and present govt. Communities are now well linked with access roads. Institutions are now face-lifted. People get more civilized by the day. Ekiti is gradually developing to compete with some 3rd generation states. It is not in the same condition as it was in 1996 when it was created or 2004 when you served.
Wait! If i may ask,where are u from? Has your state developed to standard? If no,that is backwardness

okpara ugo: Wetin corper get wey thief(armed robber) waan steal? I actually passed through thesame camp 9years ago. It is a hunger area.

Ekiti kete people will not cease amazing me. Since i was born, now that am old, i have never seen a backward place like Ekiti state.

Pm me a more visible and bold pictures for inspection. And other details like history,last of the last price,major challenge confronting it,what was it used for-commercial or private? Where-Lag or ...? Who-female or male ? And other useful info. Thanks

What about 550? 9ja used or ...?

Last of the last price ? Transmission-auto or manual?
Usage history? 9ja used,tokubo?
Pm me for detail

Nissan Sunny(two doors)@350k in 2007. I was in my late 20s then. I'm still enjoying it

University of Ilorin
Better By Far
Probitas Doctrina
My Alma Mater

glolomoh: @puffpuff, I love your maturity but becoming abusive like him could tarnish your image.

Thanks so much for your observation.
Proverbs 26:4: Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
Proverbs 26:5: Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

Since he is foolish and mannerless enough to treat a simple but innocent observation with courtesy, the latter seems more appropriate for him/her.

I am sorry for any disappointment this might have cause you (glolomoh)

uihebom: mcheww goat. Ode. Your Allah bless you too.

Is correcting your grammatical blunders now makes me a muslim or hausa? This shows how myopic you are. For your information, I'm a christian from western Nigeria.

Ode osi. Alainitiju ara galatia. Hope that confirms my origin

uihebom: just looking at your username puffpuff head. I can tell you are one of the brainless abokis. So you think HER and HER children is correct. Instead of SHE and HER children. Boko haram go and commit suicide you are useless.

*SMH
Hell is the subject of the sentence.
Await is the verb. **It must be in singular since the subject is singular. That's why I suggested it changed to 'awaits'
Her is the object. The subject form of 'her' is 'she'

'Mastery English' or 'Brighter Grammar' could help u further.

Follow this link http://en.allexperts.com/q/General-Writing-Grammar-680/heer.htm. It will explain to you that 'her and her children' is grammatically correct.

God bless you.

uihebom: B*A*S*T*A*R*D*S. Hell fire await she and her children.

Hell fire awaits her and ...

Kindly effect the correction.

ochukoccna: Hope you do not have a problem with comprehension puff puff?
Sam accused him of been a political prostitute aka AGIP and attention seeking but you do not see where he was accused of corruption nor ineptitude
Get you facts right &read part of the article you quoted which I've reduced to bring out the core for you
His 'sin' for now is having the audacity to point out the rotteness of jonny go slow's governance

My opinion and d article depicts El-Rufai as attention seeker, who enjoy being in controversies. I don't see how this is related with corruption or GEJ. If you want your voice to be heard on corruption or GEJ,kindly find a suitable post to use. Mine ain't relevant.
It is more matured and objective when you opined without being abusive and aggressive. Kids do that.

Delafruita: i wonder why people enjoy flogging a dead issue over and over.this issue has been investigated over and over and over and over and it has been shown that there was nothing unethical about the transactions that occured.he didnt re-allocate land to his cronies or families.perhaps you want to tell us that because el-rufai is minister for FCT,his family and friends cannot apply for allocation through the same procedure others would follow

I guess u failed to read this :

The former minister said he felt strongly that “as government officials, we were sitting on councils, committees or in the cabinet that would approve some of these transactions.

“In my opinion, even if there was nothing wrong legally with it, there were ethical issues

Sam Omatseye knew this guy inside out when he wrote the article below :



A perfect chameleon
By Sam Omatseye 11/07/2011 06:16:00

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is a Nigerian who basks in controversy like a reptile out of water in high noon. It does not matter in what hue or in whose company you find him. He is ready to square up to the next guy. It is all about El-Rufai’s interest even if it masquerades as a national pride. He is one of our enduring peacocks.

He is also a chameleon of interest. Whether as a lackey, a bureaucrat, a protégé, a master, or a turncoat, he is not afraid to stake a claim, and he is always smoking for a fight like a snake backed into a corner. He may strike and he may even be stricken. But boredom is the last emotion you feel with this slight man of Napoleonic ego.

El-Rufai is not about the morality or justice. He is about the fight, the theatrics of the brickbat hurled. He knows his quarry well, so he engages him or them with the gusto of a marksman.  He is amoral, a neutralist with an armour. He shoots but he does not always hit the target. Hitting the target is not important if by merely shooting you set all the birds aflutter and screaming for shelter.

He has done these well in the course of his public career. Now, he seems ready to play the role not only as a critic, but I daresay as a “revolutionary.” That is why the recent controversy over an article he wrote was only a phase in the metamorphosis of this man who understands his country so well. He is our subversive cynic.

Sometimes I think of him the way I think of such artistes in the United States as Britney Speers and Madonna, who have a knack for unveiling the foibles of the system. Many speak ill of them, but the same society craves for a new act in their evolving histrionics. They love them. They hate them. But they want them.

El-Rufai does not have the thespian assiduity of these accomplished beauties. But he does know how to work the society to his own frenzy. He is a vain man, and he is not afraid to flaunt that either. He makes gaffes, and he does not regret that, too. He just has to set the fire on the roof top and he will jubilate in quiet mischief as everyone in the house runs like a hare. Quietude is not what you normally associate with him though. Once or twice, when I have met with him, he looked like someone caged in until he got the chance to talk. And he loved the opportunity. In a few minutes, the roof caved in.

It is in the context that we must understand the recent article he wrote. It was meant to stir, and there was nothing wrong with that if you asked him. He probably did not intend to correct, but to infuriate, to remind the National Security Adviser that the El-Rufai who was in office a few years ago and who stirred controversy over land allocation and corruption issues, and who was in exile, is not about to be coaxed or coerced into silence.

El-Rufai wrote the article and the NSA’s men claimed he got the facts wrong, about how much was allocated to his office, over N200 billion. They said he got it wrong, and they picked him up. One year ago or even when he was the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, it would have been unthinkable to say that El-Rufai was arrested by the security forces.

Yet, they picked him up. El-Rufai says he got his facts from the budget, and he has the right to say so. So there. If he got his facts wrong, arresting him was not the place of democracy. The security forces fell into his hands. Rather than win on the platform of debate, they resorted to the strong arm and lost the argument. This is a system for the force of facts, not the force of arms. Unwittingly, they turned El-Rufai, who once defended a system of feline and corrupt rule, into a hero of free speech. If the security forces had their facts, they could easily have turned him into a public shame. Rather, it is the small man who now looms large for civility.

I learnt they were disappointed that he was a turncoat. How could anyone be disappointed at El-Rufai? A man who is capable of any emotion is capable of any betrayal. So he was once in government. Does that mean he should not take on government? What makes the government sacrosanct? We want more people in government who will lash out at government and unveil its seedy underside.

In the U.S., it is common. A man serves in government and he gives his honest account or, at least, an honest account as he sees it. We saw the story of Rumsfeld, or Clinton. They told their stories. It is an opportunity for us to see how the systems work from inside.

At one time, El-Rufai was the good guy of the security forces. He was the one with whom the Owu chief was well pleased, the one who knew who was safe for Nigeria and who should go to jail. He was the quintessential patriot, and he condemned others for lack of fervour for Nigeria.

Yet if you looked at his career well, you would admit that as FCT minister, he was transformational. He brought order, neatness and even picturesque allure to the city that was falling into an Alao-Akala Ibadan.

So, he did well as a minister. But also as a minister he was Baba’s lackey, fighting his every war and defending the corrupt system and the despotic “democrat.” He once told me in an interview that the time had not come for us to be worried over the issue of conflict of interest in office. Even when some raised uproar over it, he never tried to my knowledge to defend himself.

He served Atiku well when he was his protégé. When he turned over to OBJ and Obj fought with Atiku, he knew where the power lay, so he turned coat and pitched his tent with the Owu chief. It was the amoral El-Rufai at work. He swung without a squeak.

When Yar’Adua took over, he was Yar’Adua’s man before he was not. When Jonathan became president, he was for the meek man until things turned sour. Now he is serenading Buhari  whom we once nudged as unelectable. In an interview in The Nation on Sunday, he said that the man has changed. Changed from what, Nasir? Other than his allegiance to democracy over a decade ago, he is still as inflexible as his ramrod stature.

El-Rufai knew how to work the system, and somehow, it made him into a sort of public cause célèbre. He somehow helps to show us the bad side of the system because he has not been the good side himself. In the way he allocated land, we learned how government shares our resources. From his role as a lackey, we knew how people moved up in government. From his serial betrayals, we understood that playing the harlot is the way to gains. As master, he made people work for him and that, ironically, is how you command loyalists even if you are not one yourself. As a critic and “revolutionary,” he is trying to come full cycle. He is telling us that he can reveal and revel in the rottenness of our system, he being part of it.

He knows how to game the system, draw attention to himself, laugh at us, and still sleep well at night. From the recent fight with the system, he has shown that you can move from being an establishment mainstay to a nemesis of the system. We need more of him

Patrick, a clown .