The Rise and Fall of Nasir El-Rufai
By Victor Mathew Bobai
Introduction: God Still Answers
History has a way of proving that arrogance and recklessness in leadership always meet a divine response. Across time and nations, from Pharaoh of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, from Hitler in Europe to Idi Amin in Africa, leaders who exalted themselves above God and trampled on the cries of the poor discovered that heaven has ears.
In Nigeria today, no story illustrates this timeless truth more vividly than that of former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. Once seen as untouchable, feared, and hailed in some quarters as a reformer, he has now become a byword for political humiliation, rejection, and disgrace. His downfall is not a mere accident of politics; it is the harvest of pride, recklessness, and the unanswered tears of thousands.
The Bible warns: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7). For years, the oppressed of Kaduna and even Abuja sowed their tears in prayer. Today, the consequences are manifest.
El-Rufai in the FCT: The Pharaoh Emerges
El-Rufai first came to national limelight as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between 2003 and 2007. Armed with presidential backing, he launched an aggressive demolition campaign in Abuja, displacing thousands of ordinary Nigerians. Markets, homes, churches, and mosques fell under his bulldozers. While order and planning were his stated goals, compassion and humanity were missing.
Families were rendered homeless overnight. Traders lost their livelihoods. Children were uprooted from schools. In many cases, demolitions came without proper compensation or resettlement.
It was during this period that Nigerians began to see a pattern: a man intoxicated by power, who believed that rules could only be enforced with cruelty, not compassion. El-Rufai earned nicknames like “Mr Demolition” and “Pharaoh of Abuja.” Like Pharaoh in the book of Exodus, he hardened his heart, unmoved by the cries of the displaced.
Kaduna State: A Reign of Division
If his tenure in Abuja was ruthless, his eight years as governor of Kaduna State (2015–2023) entrenched him as one of the most divisive leaders in Nigeria’s democratic history.
Religious Manipulation
In one of his most infamous remarks, El-Rufai declared that Christians in Kaduna were “not up to 25% of the population.” That reckless statement was not statistical analysis; it was political provocation, designed to divide a fragile state along religious lines.
Education and Mass Sackings
Thousands of teachers were sacked in the name of “competence tests.” Civil servants, many of whom had served loyally for decades, were sent into the streets without alternatives. Families starved while the governor basked in self-righteousness.
Land and Community Policies
His policies on land and community governance often displaced traditional institutions and created deep resentment. Rather than building bridges, he dismantled long-standing balances of power.
High-Handedness in Governance
El-Rufai was not known for consultation or dialogue. He ruled by decree, silenced dissent, and weaponized state machinery against critics. Kaduna became a theater of fear rather than hope.
The result? A state already fragile from ethno-religious tensions became more polarized than ever. Under his watch, banditry and insecurity worsened, leaving thousands dead, villages destroyed, and families displaced.
The Cry of the People
Throughout these years, ordinary people bore the brunt of his policies. Widows who lost husbands to insecurity, orphans left to wander the streets, sacked civil servants who could no longer feed their families, and displaced communities uprooted by bandits—all lifted their voices to heaven.
The Scriptures remind us: “The cry of the oppressed has reached Me” (Exodus 3:9). Like the Israelites under Pharaoh, the people of Kaduna groaned. Their tears became their prayers, their pain became their offering before God. And heaven, in its appointed time, answered.
The Scriptural Parallels
El-Rufai’s story mirrors biblical leaders who allowed pride to blind them:
Pharaoh hardened his heart, pursued God’s people, and drowned in the Red Sea.
Nebuchadnezzar exalted himself, boasting in Babylon’s greatness, until he was humbled to live like an animal (Daniel 4:33).
Haman, in the book of Esther, plotted against Mordecai but ended up hanging on the gallows he prepared for another.
The lesson is clear: those who use power to oppress God’s people always face divine justice.
Modern Examples of Arrogance and Collapse
History outside the Bible confirms this truth:
Adolf Hitler, who sought to dominate the world, perished in shame, rejected even by his own people.
Idi Amin of Uganda, who ruled with terror, ended in lonely exile, ridiculed across Africa.
Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, once feared, died like a fugitive in a drainage pipe.
Saddam Hussein of Iraq, who defied God and mankind, was dragged to the gallows.
In each case, the pattern is the same: arrogance blinds, oppression backfires, and power slips away when God’s hand moves.
The National Assembly Rejection
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu nominated El-Rufai for a ministerial position in 2023, many thought it was a done deal. After all, El-Rufai once boasted of being one of Tinubu’s strongest political allies. But then came the shock: the Senate rejected his nomination.
The reason? Security concerns. Lawmakers across party lines could not overlook his divisive past, his reckless utterances, and the bitterness he left in Kaduna. His rejection was not merely political—it was divine irony. The man who prided himself as a master of power games was humbled by the very system he thought he could manipulate.
The By-Election Humiliation
As if the Senate rejection was not enough, the Kaduna by-election brought another dose of humiliation. El-Rufai’s political influence crumbled. The people, tired of his arrogance, voted with their feet. His camp suffered losses, while Governor Uba Sani’s leadership gained momentum.
For a man who once strutted as the undisputed kingmaker of Kaduna, the message was clear: the people had moved on.
The Uba Sani Contrast
The sharpest evidence that God answers prayers lies in the contrast between El-Rufai and his successor, Governor Uba Sani.
Humility and Consultation: Unlike his predecessor, Uba Sani consults widely and governs with humility. He listens to traditional rulers, religious leaders, and grassroots communities.
People-Oriented Policies: His focus on poverty alleviation, education reforms, and infrastructural projects has earned him goodwill across divides.
Presidential Sympathy: President Tinubu, recognizing Uba Sani’s approach, has extended federal goodwill and support to Kaduna.
Grassroots Sympathy: The people see him as a governor with a human face, one who feels their pain and seeks their input.
Where El-Rufai sowed division, Uba Sani is reaping unity. Where El-Rufai wielded arrogance, Uba Sani applies humility. This contrast itself is God’s judgment: lifting up the humble and bringing down the proud.
Every Reckless Situation Has a Penalty
El-Rufai’s story teaches a lesson that every leader must learn: power is a trust, not a weapon. Every reckless policy, every arrogant utterance, every tear shed by the oppressed, all accumulate as evidence before the court of heaven.
The consequences may not come immediately, but they will surely come. For El-Rufai, the Senate rejection, the by-election losses, and the erosion of political relevance are only the beginning. His name now carries the weight of caution, not admiration.
Conclusion: Who Says God Does Not Answer Prayers?
Today, the truth is self-evident: God still answers prayers. He answered the cries of Abuja traders displaced by bulldozers. He answered the tears of sacked workers in Kaduna. He heard the groans of widows and orphans abandoned to banditry. And in His time, He humbled the proud.
The rise and fall of El-Rufai is not just a political drama; it is a spiritual testimony. It proves that leadership must be anchored in humility, compassion, and accountability to God.
As Governor Uba Sani continues to win hearts with people-driven policies and the goodwill of President Tinubu strengthens Kaduna’s recovery, the contrast remains glaring. The old Pharaoh has been humbled; the new leader seeks God’s grace.
Indeed, who dares to say God does not answer prayers?
Victor Mathew Bobai
Sabon Tasha Ward, Chikun LGA of Kaduna State
