Former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has opened up on the silence and perceived abandonment by close political associates and friends during his ongoing detention, declaring that he bears no grudges against them.
El-Rufai, who has now spent 220 days in custody under the President Bola Tinubu administration—a situation his camp characterizes as a political witch-hunt—made his views known in a statement titled, “My Relationships and the Aftermath.”
The former governor noted that while many of his supporters have expressed worry over the silence of high-profile individuals he had fiercely championed in the past, his historical political interventions were never driven by an expectation of payback.
“Over the years, I have stood by people and for causes I believed in, sometimes in difficult circumstances and at considerable personal cost,” El-Rufai noted.
He explained that his actions were rooted in his Islamic faith, Arewa upbringing, and personal conscience rather than a desire for applause or mutual favors.
“Such actions were not motivated by expectations of praise, gratitude, or reciprocity, but by my conviction that they were the right things to do,” he said. “Those I supported are equally free to make their own choices now that their circumstances have changed.”
Observing the shift in loyalty among his circle, El-Rufai stated that while a few have remained vocal, others have chosen to stay quiet or completely distance themselves.
“Their reasons are their own, and I do not wish to judge them merely because their response differs from what others or even I might have expected,” the statement read.
Though he declined to condemn his estranged allies, the former minister acknowledged that his seven-month custody has provided a clear lens through which to view his networks.
“Adversity has a way of illuminating relationships,” El-Rufai said, adding that the experience would prompt him to “quietly and without regret” reassess certain personal and political ties.
He, however, cautioned against interpreting this reflection as an indicator of future political payback or malice.
“On any perceived injustice, ingratitude, or injury against me, I am not seeking revenge or retribution,” he emphasized. “Ultimate accountability belongs to Almighty Allah, and I leave that judgment to Him, in this world and in the Hereafter.”
Maintaining that posterity remains the ultimate arbiter of human actions, El-Rufai concluded: “My only concern is to remain at peace with my conscience and, above all, with Almighty Allah.”
