SOUTHERN KADUNA NOT A MINORITY, MIDDLE BELT FORUM TELLS EL-RUFAI. (PHOTO).

 Southern Kaduna Not A Minority, Middle Belt Forum Tells El-Rufai

The Kaduna State Chapter of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has strongly condemned recent remarks made by former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Air Commodore John Bako Ajeye (Rtd), made available to KADUNA POLITICAL AFFAIRS, the MBF described El-Rufai’s comments as “incendiary, false, and deliberately misleading,” particularly his claims regarding the demographic and political significance of Southern Kaduna.

The Forum noted that contrary to El-Rufai’s assertion that Christians make up “not even 25%” of Kaduna State, verified data indicates that Southern Kaduna, predominantly Christian and comprising 12 local government areas, accounts for nearly half of the state’s estimated 10 million population.

The group accused El-Rufai of attempting to “politically diminish” the region, stressing that the 2023 gubernatorial election outcome demonstrated its decisive influence, with Southern Kaduna contributing 43.7% of registered voters in the state.

The MBF further criticized El-Rufai for allegedly fostering division during his tenure, including the “balkanization of traditional institutions, disenfranchisement through electoral ward manipulation, and neglect of security and infrastructure in Southern Kaduna.”

Recalling El-Rufai’s admission of making payments to bandits, the Forum accused him of governing “more like a bandits’ patron than a protector of the people,” and dismissed his recent defense of the Muslim-Muslim ticket as “dishonest and contradictory.”

“Today, El-Rufai is an excess baggage to any political platform, a burden to any party that associates with him,” the statement declared.

The MBF urged Nigerians to disregard what it described as the former governor’s “malicious fabrications,” while calling on him to desist from “poisoning the well of unity in Kaduna State.”

The Forum reaffirmed its commitment to promoting equity, justice, and unity across the state, adding that “no distortion or falsehood can erase the place of Southern Kaduna and the Middle Belt in Nigeria’s political landscape.”

The statement reads, "The attention of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Kaduna State Chapter, has been drawn to the recent incendiary, false, and deliberately misleading comments made by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, during his appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” a major part that has to do with Southern Kaduna, which is part of the Middle Belt absorbed into the North West geopolitical zone.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Middle Belt of Nigeria is made up of all the ethnic nationalities of the 19 Northern States plus the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that are not Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri.

"The MBF, Kaduna state Chapter, therefore, considers it a solemn duty to the world and to posterity to set the record straight and counter this orchestrated campaign of shocking falsehood and demographic gaslighting from El-Rufai targeted at the good people of Southern Kaduna and the Middle Belt region at large.

"El-Rufai’s interview was a desperate deception; a pathetic attempt to rewrite reality and diminish the undeniable political and demographic facts of Southern Kaduna on the weight and relevance of Christians majority area in the political culture of Kaduna State.

Contrary to El-Rufai’s fictitious claim that Christians constitute “not even 25%” of Kaduna State, verified data from independent and governmental sources presents a starkly different reality.

“Southern Kaduna” is a socio-cultural, historical connected ethnic nationalities of Kaduna State that are not Hausa and Fulani and geographically contiguous with Christianity as its dominant religion. Southern Kaduna forms 12 Local Government Areas with the 8 LGAs of ‘zone 3’ or Kaduna South Senatorial Zone forming its core. But Southern Kaduna, based on its definition, includes Chikun, Kajuru, Kaduna South, and Lere. It spans approximately 26,000 sq km and is home to a projected population of 5.1 million people, constituting almost half of the state’s population of today.

"Kaduna State is not Christian-minority bloc but also a hub of education, intellectualism, and civil service excellence, producing legendary Nigerian pioneers like Dr. Barau Dikko and Prof. Ishaya Audu who were all Christians.

"El-Rufai’s attempt to politically diminish Southern Kaduna is the height of lies. He must be reminded that touching Southern Kaduna is as good as touching the Middle Belt, and no distortion or falsehood can erase this fact.

The 2023 gubernatorial election, which his protégé, Sen Uba Sani of the APC, won by a razor-thin margin of 10,806 votes, was decisively determined by the votes from Southern Kaduna, which boasts 43.7% of the state’s registered voters. It is the height of ingratitude for a man who benefitted from a similar coalition in 2015 to now turn around and label the same people as “insignificant” because they roundly rejected his toxic politics of division.

"His comparison of the peaceful, democratic Christian communities of Southern Kaduna to the proscribed Shiite movement is not only reckless but deeply bigoted, designed solely to incite hatred and justify the systemic marginalization and violence these communities have endured under his watch and beyond.

"We are not surprised by El-Rufai’s vitriol. It is the bitter cry of a man facing a well-deserved political shame, which is the direct price for the wickedness he meted out on the people of Southern Kaduna. His administration was marked by the deliberate balkanization of our traditional institutions, the unjust redrawing of electoral wards to disenfranchise our people, the abandonment of critical projects, and a shocking disregard for the security of lives and property.

"He has forgotten that he was the first governor to admit on national television that he paid bandits. Beyond that, credible reports — including from respected security chiefs — confirmed that his administration directly negotiated and disbursed huge sums running into billions of naira to these criminal elements. In effect, he governed more like a bandits’ patron than a protector of the people. He has forgotten he was caught on video stating that the Muslim-Muslim ticket was deliberately chosen to “enthron Islam.” Now, he contradictorily claims it was merely to win an election. This is the height of dishonesty. He is not the only graduate in Kaduna; we are all educated enough to see through his duplicity.

"Today, El-Rufai is an excess baggage to any political platform, a burden to any party that associates with him. His political relevance has expired, and Kaduna State has long moved beyond his toxic brand of politics.

"We admonish Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to desist from spreading falsehood and poisoning the well of unity in our dear state. At his age, he should be seeking peace and making amends in preparation to meet his maker, not actively working to plunge future generations into conflict.

"Though his days in the political limelight are numbered, he is tragically determined to leave the political space as its most disgraced, humiliated, and unfulfilled figure. We urge well-meaning Nigerians and the media to disregard his malicious fabrications.

"The Middle Belt Forum, Kaduna State, remains committed to advocating for equity, transparent governance, and the unity of all peoples of Kaduna State based on truth and justice, not the pathological lies of a failed politician."