Prof. Yusuf Lashes El-Rufai, Amaechi; Says They Want Out of APC’s Failure

By Akinwale Kasali

A very outspoken member of the Northern Elders Forum, Professor Usman Yusuf, has taken a swipe at both the Governor of Kaduna  State, Nasir El-Rufai, and the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, over their reaction in the aftermath of the March 28 fatal attack on the Kaduna-Abuja Train, and other violence in the North, and Kaduna especially.

Kaduna, recently, has become the hotbed of terrorists’ attacks, the most brazen being the attacks on the Kaduna International Airport and the bombing of the Train on March 26 and 28 respectively.

Reacting to the Train attack, Minister Amaechi who supervises the Nigeria Railway Corporation said the attack was avoidable. He blamed it on the refusal of the Federal Government to approve the sum of three billion Naira his Ministry had requested for  security  gadgets to guard the railway tracks/routes.

In his own reaction, El-Rufai had accused Security Agencies of knowing the locations of the terrorists, and even calling them on their phones and monitoring their calls and, yet, refuse to take the fight to them.

He asked them to bomb the forests and kill everybody there, adding that no innocent person lives in the forest. He, also, threatened that he and other Northern Governors would resort to hiring foreign mercenaries to fight the terrorist if the Federal Government continues in the same weak pattern.

But Professor Yusuf, in an interview with Channels Television’s Seun Okinbaloye, dismissed the reactions of both men as irresponsible. He said they were playing to the gallery. He accused them of grandstanding because it is an election year.

He said they want to opt out of the failure of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Government’s, but insisted that they are all culpable. He said they cannot, at this late hour, opt out of the mess.

Specifically on El-Rufai, Prof Yusuf said the Governor was just blowing hot air. And said El-Rufai just talks without any action. Chiding him over his threat to hire foreign mercenaries, the Prof said the Governor knows that he and the Governors are incapable of doing that, asking where they would even get the money for it.

Following is the Prof’s response when Okinbaloye asked him:

“Are mercenaries the way? You are talking about solutions, Governor El Rufai said if the FG does not take an action, himself and other Governors in the North West will deploy Mercenaries to do the work. Is that the right way?”

Prof : “That is El-Rufai  doing what he knows how to do best. Talk. Grandstand. This is political grandstanding in an election year. You know,  he does not have the power to do that. He knows that on 11th of March, 2021, top Security Heads met with the President and the NSA came to brief the Nation and stated clearly that no foreign mercenaries was in the country and Governor El- Rufai had security issues in his State and he never did anything.”

Yusuf said he had confronted El-Rufai on his actions before.

“Yes, I have taken him on by writing in newspapers. They have abducted school children, he never said anything. We lost five of them. So he and Honourable Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi are doing nothing but grandstanding. They are being clever by half.

“They are looking for an off- run. They want to jump off this ship that they are part of. They are part of this Government that has failed to secure the Nation and protect its people.

Now, they are looking elsewhere to blame people, saying it is the military, it is that. Who in the world in an election year would think mercenaries will happen, when they are disconnected from the realities? The ones that are scrambling for offices.

“This one says if you do not bring mercenaries, I will do this and that. He does not have that power.

“All the northern Governors could not meet to do the basic things together as Northern Governors to protect our people.

“We went to Niger State, all the Chemists close to the forest are selling drugs such as tramadol, Boska and every other things, and Governors can’t come together to do the simple thing and kill this banditry, and a Governor is coming up, grandstanding, saying let’s go and bomb the forest and get mercenaries.

“These States are poor to the extent that after paying salaries there is not much left. Where are you going to get money to pay for mercenaries? Go back and deal with the local security architectures.

“The President said it on Arise TV that Governors should deal  with local security architecture. What are the local security architectures in the North and everywhere doing? They are the Traditional rulers and Clerics. You, as a Governor are not dealing with them  and you are saying we will do this and that. That is mere political grandstanding and the Chairman of the APC ( Senator Abdullahi Adamu) said this when he was asked about the comment of El Rufai and Amaechi. He said: ‘You don’t use a knife to rip open your belly’.

He knows this is political grandstanding, They are in this mess together and they must take full responsibility of not being able to secure this country and protect our people. None of them is going to do an off-run  and distance himself from their failure.”

Using the reactions of both men as a peg, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chided the APC, and said its Government is an all-round monumental failure