By Mohammed Bello Doka
The fine line between Senator Abdulaziz Yari and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is gradually blurring—so much so that one might mistake them for mirror images of the same political tragedy. But apparently, the Zamfara-born strongman is too distracted by the songs of the sirens to notice the trap yawning wide open before him. After all, when power whispers sweet nothings in your ear, who has time to read the fine print?
Welcome to this week’s edition of Sarcastic Sunday with Mohammed Bello Doka, where we study Nigeria’s political gymnastics—sarcastically laced with humor, because doing otherwise will choke us to death.
Information available to me, which I haven’t independently verified (because who needs verification when you have instinct?), reveals that Senator Yari has reached an agreement with President Tinubu’s camp. Not only to lead the presidential campaign of President Tinubu but also to fund it. And in return, the President promised Yari the Senate President’s position—and in some accounts, the presidency itself after Tinubu’s second term.
Now, this piece is not designed to discuss whether Tinubu intends to relinquish power if he eventually succeeds in 2027 or not. This week, it’s about Yari. And God forbid that I dilute the substance of today’s satire with unnecessary digressions about what might or might not happen in some distant, hypothetical future.
Apparently, Yari has been convinced somehow. And it’s not in my place to decide what he chooses to believe or what he chooses to question. But it’s also not in everyone’s place to decide the scope of today’s sarcasm.
Yari has been deceived. And just like El-Rufai, he is in for a very long session that will require deep introspection—rather than wasting his energy on Atiku’s statements about subsidy, its return, or lack thereof. Because when the chips are down, Mr. Yari will require subsidy himself more than Nigerians do at the moment.
Let us rewind. On August 29, 2026, Yari—now the freshly minted Director-General of Tinubu’s 2027 Presidential Campaign Council—publicly accused Atiku Abubakar of lying to Nigerians. Atiku had pledged to restore a targeted fuel subsidy if elected in 2027. Yari fired back with the poetic flourish of a man who has rehearsed his lines one too many times: “Anybody who is deceiving Nigerians, saying ‘I’m going to bring this thing back,’ he’s lying to himself, he is lying internally, he’s lying eternally, he’s lying to Nigerians” .
His argument? There was no provision for petrol subsidy in the 2023 budget passed by the National Assembly before Tinubu assumed office. He questioned how any incoming government could sustain such a policy without a clear financial framework. He claimed the subsidy regime involved a “N20 trillion deal for a year, going to where we don’t know” . And as chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, he said they challenged NNPC for four years to provide accurate consumption figures—only to be told, “we are doing subsidy for West Africa” .
Noble crusade, isn’t it? Defending the President’s policy, standing firm against what he calls deception. But here’s the thing about crusades, Mr. Yari—they tend to end badly for the knights who lead them. Just ask El-Rufai.
The similarities between Yari and El-Rufai are not merely coincidental—they are practically scripted by the same playwright.
Both El-Rufai and Yari were having issues with Tinubu from the beginning.
Remember El-Rufai’s story? Professor Ishaq Akintola and MURIC approached him because they believed Tinubu could not secure the presidency without substantial northern support. El-Rufai and 11 other northern APC governors backed the rotation of power to the South in 2022, despite strong northern presidential interests. El-Rufai reconciled with Tinubu despite previous differences—they were never friends, he would later clarify. He put aside those differences and became one of the most important northern defenders of Tinubu’s candidacy.
He defended Tinubu during the naira redesign crisis. He backed the Muslim-Muslim ticket. He accompanied Tinubu to Chatham House. He helped reassure northern supporters and international audiences alike.
And what did he get for his trouble? His ministerial nomination was rejected by the Senate in August 2023. He was subsequently isolated politically. And then came the detention—the ICPC secured a remand order, and El-Rufai has remained in custody. The ADC has accused Tinubu of political persecution, arguing that El-Rufai was detained because he would strengthen the opposition ahead of 2027.
El-Rufai himself has since confirmed that his exclusion from Tinubu’s government was a “betrayal”. He said he was never Tinubu’s friend and that his 2023 support was purely political. A political decision that cost him everything.
Now let us turn to Yari.
Yari also was having issues with Tinubu from the beginning. After Tinubu supported Godswill Akpabio for the Senate President position, Yari fought a very good fight. He declared that he was sure of winning, but some powerful forces—including the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation—ganged up against him. “Everyone was involved,” Yari said. “I never dreamt of not winning” .
And then came the DSS. In July 2023, Yari was reportedly arrested and detained for two nights. According to reports, he was detained for “thinking the president is a joke” after ignoring Tinubu’s phone calls during the Senate leadership battle. “He was asked why he ignored the president’s phone calls,” an official said. “He started arguing that he has every right to contest for the position” .
Tinubu realized that Yari is a formidable foe—better subtly destroyed than faced with brute force.
Just like El-Rufai, a group of people from the South approached Yari. I do not have to insinuate or hallucinate about who those people are, because I should not rob Yari of the privilege of leading his own confession at the right time.
But obviously, Yari is convinced. And now he’s been saddled with the responsibility to use his own funds and campaign for Tinubu. In fact, that’s even more rewarding than the El-Rufai scenario—because at least El-Rufai didn’t have to fund the campaign that would eventually destroy him.
But has Yari looked into the pages of recent history?
When the chips are down, Mr. Yari, those same people pushing you today will not only become passive observers—they’ll fund their data boys and the Lagos-Ibadan Evangelical Media to expose how you became extremely rich without a known source of income.
How you were able to buy Geregu Power Plant for over a trillion Naira.
Let us consult the open sources, shall we? In December 2025, Yari’s MA’AM Energy Limited acquired a controlling stake in Geregu Power Plc. The deal was valued at approximately N1.08 trillion (about $750 million). Yari subsequently became chairman of Geregu Power.
Before entering partisan politics in 1999, Yari trained in secretarial studies and worked as a primary-school teacher and with a local government. A rather impressive jump from primary school teacher to acquiring a trillion-naira power plant, wouldn’t you say?
His financial affairs have attracted scrutiny. In 2021, a Federal High Court ordered the forfeiture of funds linked to Yari after he failed to establish a legitimate source for the funds. The ICPC also obtained an interim forfeiture order over properties linked to him in 2022.
Groups have called for investigations into his investments, alleging sudden wealth and illegal mining activities. One coalition has called for the public release of Yari’s asset declarations.
But here’s the irony that would be delicious if it weren’t so tragic: Yari is now the Director-General of a campaign council that includes multiple figures with EFCC and ICPC cases. The same man whose financial dealings have attracted the attention of anti-corruption agencies is now leading the charge to defend the administration’s record on “facts and figures” .
I am a man who chose to believe in the wisdom of the street. If it looks like a trap, smells like a trap, then I choose to believe it’s a trap.
El-Rufai built the bridge that brought Tinubu to power. He was the northern champion who made the South-West presidency possible. And when his usefulness expired, he was discarded like a used tissue—his nomination rejected, his political career in tatters, his freedom taken away.
Yari is now being asked to build the same bridge. To fund it. To lead it. To put his own money and reputation on the line for a man who has shown, time and again, that loyalty is a one-way street in his administration.
The South-West political elite who benefited from El-Rufai’s sacrifice? They were silent when he needed them. They watched as the man who helped construct the North-South-West alliance was politically abandoned. And they will be silent again when Yari’s turn comes.
MURIC warned in 2023 that mistreating the man who helped build the alliance could destroy future political cooperation between the two regions. But warnings are like umbrellas in Nigeria—useless until the rain starts pouring.
And the rain is coming, Mr. Yari. It’s coming for you.
Because when the chips are down—when the election is won or lost, when your usefulness has been extracted, when the campaign funds have been spent—those same people who pushed you forward today will become passive observers. They’ll fund their data boys and the Lagos-Ibadan Evangelical Media to expose how you became extremely rich without a known source of income. How you were able to buy Geregu Power Plant for over a trillion Naira. How a primary school teacher became a power plant owner.
And you will sit there, just like El-Rufai, wondering where it all went wrong.
The ultimate message is this: Tinubu’s perceived betrayal of El-Rufai, combined with the silence of the South-West establishment, has damaged the trust upon which the 2023 North-South-West alliance was built. The article we referenced warns that asking the North to make another political sacrifice in 2027 may encounter serious resistance.
But Yari doesn’t see it. He’s too busy defending the President against Atiku’s “lies” to notice that he’s walking the exact same path that led El-Rufai to political oblivion.
El-Rufai helped build the bridge that brought Tinubu to power, and he was politically abandoned once his usefulness had passed. Yari is now being asked to build the same bridge—with his own money, no less.
The fine line between Yari and El-Rufai is indeed blurring. They are becoming the same man, separated only by time and the cruel arithmetic of political betrayal.
So, Mr. Yari, by all means, keep chasing Atiku’s “facts and fallacies.” Keep defending the President’s record. Keep spending your money and your political capital on a campaign that will, in all likelihood, end with you wondering what hit you.
But don’t say nobody warned you.
Because in the world of Nigerian politics, the only thing more predictable than betrayal is the shocked expression of the betrayed when it finally arrives.
This has been Sarcastic Sunday with Mohammed Bello Doka. Where we study Nigeria’s political gymnastics—sarcastically laced with humor, because doing otherwise will choke us to death.
Until next week, keep your eyes open and your wallet closed. The traps are everywhere.
From all of us at Abuja Network News, we thank you for staying with us through another edition of Sarcastic Sunday. If you enjoy our work and would like to support independent, unfiltered political commentary, we have introduced a voluntary subscription plan for our valued supporters. Kindly visit our Support section on our website—AbujaNewsNetwork.com.ng—and join our community of readers who make this work possible. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps us keep the lamp burning and the satire flowing.
Until next Sunday, stay sharp, stay skeptical, and always question the fine print.
Doka, is a public affairs analyst
