In this interview with CHAMBA SIMEH, Mr. Martins Akumazi, the special adviser to the Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufa’i, speaks of his more than 40-year relationship with his principal as well the governor’s urban renewal projects and other successes.
By the way, some people have called el-Rufa’i names. They have alleged clearly without any evidence that he is a bigot, a tribalist. In all your years of relating with him, officially and unofficially, have you seen any evidence that he is a tribalist?
Malam el-Rufa’i a bigot, tribalist? That’s far from the truth; a damn lie. Those who call him these ugly names obviously do not know him, and must believe the tales of those adversely affected by his policies or who, for political reasons, demonise him. There is no way Malam would have masked his bigotry or tribalism for more than 40 years that I have known him – absolutely no way! I sincerely sympathise with him when I hear people who have never met him describe him in such terms, probably based on what they read or heard from people with vested interests. Malam is definitely not a bigot, but that is the price he is paying for insisting on, and doing what is right.
I have over the years observed many people who initially called Malam names without ever meeting him, but when they eventually did, their perception of him drastically changed. I am being very sincere about this. I speak based on events that I have personally witnessed. In the almost 40 years that I’ve known Malam closely, I have also related with many people around him – his family, friends, associates, employees, his employers or clients, etc. His closest friends and associates cut across tribes and religious faith.
I know and interact with most of them. I would have noticed these falsehoods all these years, if there was any truth in it. The allegations are completely unfair to him, if you ask me. On the contrary, Malam is tolerant, considerate and kind. His attraction to people or friendship is never based on religion or tribe. I can call out his closest friends and associates by name; and very many of them are Christians from the South. This amazes me because Malam was born in the North, went to schools up to his second degree in the north, before going to schools in other parts of the world. He worked more years in the North and fewer years in the southern part of the country. In spite of his brilliance and intelligence, he has an incredible patience to relate with everyone whether brilliant like him, wise or dull, old or youth, as well as children and I must give it to him, he accords each person their due respect and dignity.
What qualities of el- Rufa’i attracted him to you? And having been close to him for many years, what other qualities about him have you come to appreciate?
I believe it was his brilliance first, which from the very outset was obvious. Other attractions are his profound humility, compassion, patience, understanding and tolerance. Another endearing quality of Malam is his exceptional gift in problem solving and decision making. I have never seen him surrender to any problem or unable to make timely decisions on any matter. He has a tremendous capacity to reason through a problem; he has a highly intuitive and rational mind.
Malam has a very sharp and retentive memory; and then, there is also his penchant and respect for rules and ethics. I believe his leadership is a gift from God – those who have worked closely with him will more easily understand and attest to what I am talking about. He has an amazing skill and capacity to hold people together, assign roles and responsibilities, and settle misunderstandings amongst personnel to the satisfaction of everyone, a win-win for all, always. I don`t know how he does it, but he does this consistently. Finally, he is a very good and committed family man. These are some of Malam’s qualities that I practically know very well.
With all sense of responsibility I must ask you this question because you know him and you are in a position to frontally address the issue. Is Nasir el-Rufa’i brash? Is he wicked? It seems the restoration of the Abuja and Kaduna Master Plans that entailed demolition of properties have made people to tag him as a wicked person.
Malam can’t, by any yardstick, be described as “brash.” I vehemently disagree with those who say he is. I understand that politicians want to paint their opponents black, but most times they do cross the line. I would prefer they paint their opponents black in terms of policy, but not to demonise their opponents. Malam is not in any way brash; he is calculating and confident – maybe that is what people misconstrue as arrogance and brashness. He speaks his mind; he is brave and outspoken and perhaps, this is what people perceive as brashness. You asked if he is wicked. Not at all! He is just a respecter of rules and ethics. What is the essence of laws if they are not enforced? That is Malam for you. He will always insist on doing what is right. Naturally, he will constantly clash with those of our people who see themselves as above the law. In the case of Abuja, the master plan is of world-class. Recall that Abuja was conceived to correct the crisis of Lagos, the former federal capital. So, it has development rules to prevent haphazard and disorganised development.
When Malam took charge, Abuja was almost a lawless city, development-wise. Developers lacked regard or respect for development regulations and control; nothing was off limit. They built on service lines [water, power, sewer, drainage, etc]. Abuja was subjected to all manner of abuse. Characteristically, Malam refused to close his eyes to the rot, no matter whose ox was gored. Malam’s rare personality and qualities came to bear here – courage, respect for rules, outspokenness, frankness, serious mindedness, bravery; it was obvious that his quarrels and fights were and still are mostly with those who believed they were or are above the law. What many may not know is that these characteristics of him were not developed while in public office. I have known him for more than 40 years, and I can attest to that fact. el-Rufai, to you, but Malam to us, has remained consistent all the way.
Let’s talk about the restoration of the Abuja Master Plan which led to the demolition of houses. What triggered the exercise? This is because el-Rufa’i definitely made powerful enemies from that exercise.
The Restoration of the Abuja Master Plan was one of the key terms of reference that the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, gave to Malam on his appointment as FCT Minister. President Obasanjo deserves commendation for backing Malam in carrying out the retrieval of the Abuja master plan. I hope you are aware that as Military Head of State, Obasanjo completed the process of moving the capital from Lagos to Abuja. He wanted a well-planned city. The Master Plan and urban development laws were intended to guide the development in the Federal Capital Territory. There had been very serious infractions and contraventions of the plan and the laws, such as developments on services corridors – power, water, and sewer and drainage lines. There were developments even on flood plains, green areas, etc; and other infractions that included the emergence of many slums, land use changes such as residential areas converted to commercial uses, private houses built on school and hospital land, etc.
His assignment was to restore the territory to the Master Plan and this necessitated the removal of the contravening developments; a tough task, especially because many of the developments were owned by powerful people. Such an assignment required a lot of courage and Malam gave it his all. He never minded whose ox was gored. Of course, you are right, that he made many powerful enemies, including amongst the common people. Nigerians are generally lawless.
You are the special adviser to the governor on project Implementation and result delivery. What exactly do you do?
I work with a team of construction professionals, comprising architects, engineers and quantity surveyors. We provide independent monitoring, evaluation and feedback to the government on project implementation and delivery. Our major assignment is to ensure value for money forthe state government, quality and timely delivery of projects. My team works with and provides technical support to the ministries, departments, agencies and the infrastructure development council which is chaired by Her Excellency, the deputy governor. The Council oversees and coordinates all infrastructure projects. Malam’s administration has devoted and deployed enormous resources to infrastructural development and ensuring that the state gets commensurate value for money is highly imperative. Kaduna state has benefitted in more ways than one having a prudent professional like Malam run the state.
What are the outstanding projects that might not be completed? Some people have expressed fears that some projects might not be completed. What assurances do you want to give to the people of Kaduna state?
Certainly, Malam’s administration cannot complete all its on-going projects by the end of May, 2023, even though that was the target. But I want to assure the people of Kaduna state that the goal is to complete as many projects as possible, and where it is not possible, take them to a substantial stage of completion. Howver, even at that, some on-going projects, as we said earlier, must certainly spill over into the next administration.
Our prayer that a member of the team takes over from Malam has been answered with the emergence of Senator Uba Sani as the flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress. He is a member of the team; so he has a good understanding of the goals of the Nasir el-Rufa’i administration. This will guarantee the completion of these projects and ensure the much-needed continuity. The distinguished lawmaker has done extremely well at the Senate. I have no doubt that he will do well as governor.
The Kaduna state Executive Council is as diverse as the Federal Executive Council. There is no other state Executive Council that compares to the Kaduna state Executive Council. You have colleagues from Anambra, Kwara, Ogun, Bauchi, Adamawa, Kogi, Plateau states as wells as you from Delta state. Why would the people not use this peculiar case of inclusiveness to judge el-Rufa’i?
Your question is the perfect answer to those who call Malam all kinds of name. Again, I want to repeat that it is because they do not know him. He is a highly reasonable person; loyal to his friends to a fault. Those who tag Malam a bigot don’t know him at all. If they do, they wouldn’t dare use those words on him, spread by vested interests adversely affected by his policies.
When former President Obasanjo came to Kaduna on a courtesy visit to the governor, he joined the state Executive Council meeting. And I want to quote him in his words, “Nasir, your Cabinet is obviously a mini-Nigeria. I didn’t know that until this visit and the opportunity to sit in it with you.” Many other key figures including renowned religious leaders have visited and observed the same. Can you imagine that I have colleagues in the Cabinet that are Igbo like me? The Cabinet took that shape from the start of Malam’s administration in 2015, and has remained so till date. I wish this could be replicated in the other 35 states; that is the kind of Nigeria we all long for.
Malam has demonstrated in practical terms his belief in a Nigeria where you can contribute your quota in any state without being held back by the non-indigene/indigene dichotomy. I feel terribly bad and sympathise with Malam when people resort to mischief to settle political issues. But he is a strong man; he keeps moving, remaining focused on his beliefs and goals. Of course, if you are doing better than others in the same endeavours many are bound to be jealous or envious of you and your accomplishments. There are people who oppose Malam’s policies simply because such policies will portray Malam as more serious minded and better in the eyes of the public than them.
With the on-going development of the state, where do you see the state in the next five years?
Many of the development projects on Malalm’s priority list have already been completed and commissioned. Many more are due for completion and commissioning even now and in the next couple of months, and others will still be completed before the end of this administration. So much more will be achieved in the next one year; and these include road networks – township roads in the three senatorial zones, water and power supply expansion and improvement projects, district engineering infrastructure to expand residential, commercial and industrial developments; new construction or renovation of schools including many model schools; hospitals including primary health care (PHC) facilities; secondary and tertiary health facilities, including the 300-bed hospital in the Millennium City complemented with a Cancer Centre; markets and malls, especially in the three major cities; Kaduna, Kafachan and Zaria (KKZ), particularly the Galaxy “Shoprite” Mall at the Murtala Square, the Special Agro-Industrial Processing (SAPZ)) including its major component, the Green Agro-Allied Industrial Zone, GAAIZ, with a tax free zone status; the Damau Milk Farm or Ranch to help ameliorate the crisis of herder-farmer clashes, etc. There are many other projects on Malam’s priority list which have been planned and designed for implementation by the next administration.
