Date Published: 07/13/11

Re: What Nigerians Pay the FG by Nasir El-Rufai; My Right of Reply

The piece of article with the above title in the Thisday Newspaper of 1 st July 2011 would have been taken seriously by patriotic Nigerians if it had not come from Nasir El-Rufai who was part of the mess of the Obasanjo/Yar’adua administration before he fell out with late Yar’adua early in the Yar’adua administration. With the above article El-Rufai is simply moaning and bitching having lost out in the power game for now. I am really surprised that the internet warriors of Nigeria are falling over themselves calling El-Rufai a hero.

To set the records straight, let us re-cap some of Nasir El-Rufai’s corrupt practices when he was in Obasanjo’s government.

* Nasir El-Rufai as the minister of FCT was paying his NYSC girl friend one million naira allowance as against the eleven thousand naira allowance other NYSC members was being paid.

* El-Rufai allocated FCT houses and choice plots of land to his children and friends using fictitious names.

* El-Rufai was part of the economic team who could account for the $16 billion sank into comatose NEPA turned PHCN.

* El-Rufai confirmed that he was still part of the team that hoisted sick Yar’adua on Nigerians. As if that is not enough, he was still part of the cabal that held Nigeria and Nigerians hostage last year when Yar’adua was sick. Segun Adeniyi has confirmed that in his series ‘The Cabal’.

It was when President Goodluck Jonathan did not consider him worthy of any appointment in his administration that El-Rufai decided to switch side typical of Nigerian politician.

El-Rufai confirmed that immediately he came from exile, he paid nocturnal visits to vice president Namadi Sambo to curry favors which was not forth coming.

While the figures he quoted in his article made sense, let his charity begin at home by returning all the money he looted from the FCT from 2003 to 2007. Let him equally explained to us ordinary Nigerians how he maintained himself in exile for three years. In whose house was he staying? Who was paying his bills and his school fees while studying in Harvard University?

We are tired of reading hateful articles by frustrated politicians simply because they have lost out in the power game.

Can El-Rufai tell Nigerians how many jobs he created as FCT minister? The one million naira allowance he was paying his NYSC girl friend, wouldn’t it have paid the salary of at least five graduates per month? Did El-Rufai condemn the bogus salary and allowances he and he his colleagues were collecting when he was a minister?

Is it not mischief for El-Rufai to compare the Nigerian budget of 2007 and that of 2011 which is a clear four years period!

I only agree with El-Rufai in one sense, the criminal salary and allowances being stolen from the national treasury by the gang of looters called the National Assembly members must be slashed by 75% and paid to teachers, police, doctors and other health workers.

Mallam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, please return your own loot to the national treasury as a restitution then we Nigerians will know you a true Muslim and is ready to be a social critic in Nigeria.

Adejo A Adeolu writes from Bariga Lagos.