Being a Nollywood Actor in Governance is Not for Me, Says El-Rufai
Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, has stated that he is not a politician who likes to pretend, unlike some of his colleagues. He made this remark on Saturday while responding to a compliment from an X user who praised his book, Accidental Public Servant.
The user had commented, saying that after reading El-Rufai’s book, he was convinced that no politician would want El-Rufai in their cabinet unless they genuinely aimed to develop the country, as El-Rufai doesn’t pretend.
In his reply, El-Rufai thanked the user and reiterated that he doesn’t know how to pretend, adding, “Being a Nollywood actor in governance is for some others, not for some of us.”
El-Rufai also recently criticized his former party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing it of abandoning its founding principles and fostering poor leadership. He expressed discontent with the current state of the party, stating, “I no longer recognize the APC. No party organ has met in two years—no caucus, no NEC, nothing. You don’t even know if it is a one-man show; it’s a zero-man show.”
He further criticized the quality of leadership emerging from political parties, blaming unqualified delegates. “You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people as your leaders. This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today,” he said.
El-Rufai’s comments on the APC prompted a response from Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser on Policy Communication to President Bola Tinubu, who questioned if El-Rufai would have expressed the same opinion if he were still part of the government. Bwala asked, “My Senior brother, if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position? History is replete with examples. It is a government you participated in its formation, that you now want to unseat.”
In response, the former FCT Minister explained, “I was a cabinet minister 22 years ago and made it clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his future government. The pathetic manner all of you latter-day converts to the Tinubu government make an issue out of something I never wanted in the first place is perhaps a reflection of the level of your moral flexibility.”
He added, “If I had remained in the Tinubu government, I would have said or done the same regarding the tragedy within a party I helped found and the government that emerged from it. First, in private sessions with those concerned, and then going public if no remedial actions are taken. Go and check my public service record from 1998.”
