Rev. Joseph Hayab of Kaduna State Christian Association of Nigeria dismisses Nasir El-Rufai’s alleged Islamization claims, advises Nigerians to ignore him. He further asserted that Nasir El-Rufai’s recent statement about a Muslim/Muslim ticket and the victory of President Bola Tinubu silencing his critics, as well as the involvement of CAN, were merely tactics to advance his alleged presidential ambition and promote divisiveness.The chairman of CAN responded to a viral video on social media in which Nasir El-Rufai was claimed to have stated that the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the Kaduna governorship election would continue for more than 20 years in the state.In the video, the former governor, who spoke in Hausa, also claimed that Muslim domination was being replicated at the national level.
In response to El-Rufai’s alleged comment, Reverend Joseph Hayab stated during an appearance on Arise TV’s Morning Show that Nigerians should not pay much attention to El-Rufai’s remarks. He suggested that El-Rufai was merely seeking relevance and attempting to provoke unsuspecting Nigerians by playing to the gallery.According to Reverend Joseph Hayab, El-Rufai is living in a dream where he believes he can engage in religious games and potentially become the president of Nigeria in the future. Hayab seems to imply that El-Rufai’s actions are driven by personal ambition rather than genuine concern for the well-being of the country.He further stated, “El-Rufai is playing a manipulative game, attempting to create confusion and division between Christians and Muslims, as well as between Christians and the current government, all for his own personal benefit in the future. However, I must say that his efforts have been unsuccessful from the beginning.”“When asked to provide an official response to El-Rufai’s statement, Hayab responded by saying, ‘Our simple response is to ignore the madman. We should ignore the man who is seeking attention, engaging in gimmicks, and pursuing his own agenda. We should not take him seriously.'””If his Muslim/Muslim ticket had truly succeeded, we wouldn’t be experiencing the killings, division, and problems that we currently have in Kaduna. Therefore, there was no success to be celebrated during his administration.””El-Rufai is merely playing games, and we have no interest in glorifying his tactics. We view him as someone whose era of influence and power has ended, but he still seeks relevance by raising issues that may deceive ignorant individuals into thinking he is defending faith. However, many Imams can remind him of how he demolished their mosques, mistreated them, and showed no respect for their religious beliefs. He is simply engaging in political maneuvers and attempting to exploit the situation.””Buhari, in his three previous attempts to become president, also engaged in such games, but they did not lead to his success. However, he learned from his experiences and formed alliances with other political parties, eventually becoming the president.”
“But Buhari, whom El-Rufai is trying to emulate, possesses three qualities that El-Rufai lacks. Buhari was perceived as honest during that time; he was not talkative or careless with his words like you, El-Rufai. People believed they could engage with Buhari to some extent. However, in your case, El-Rufai, 90 percent of the people know that everything you say is a lie and solely for your personal gain. Therefore, we are aware that the Muslims in Kaduna know that El-Rufai does not speak for them, and they won’t align with El-Rufai’s perspective.
“Someone like El-Rufai, who has benefited from our shared resources and has become wealthy, should not divide us and create unnecessary confusion out of selfishness. Nigeria must not take such a person seriously because, to be honest, he needs to be evaluated at a psychiatric hospital to ensure his mental well-being.”
The chairman of Kaduna CAN further emphasized that El-Rufai’s alleged agenda was a deliberate trap and a precarious situation for President Bola Tinubu. He stated that El-Rufai’s intention was to create heated tensions and direct people towards Tinubu. However, Hayab assured that there is a clear distinction between El-Rufai and Bola Tinubu, as well as other individuals.
Efforts to obtain a response from Muyiwa Adekeye, the former governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication, were unsuccessful. Calls made to his telephone line did not connect, and a text message sent to him remained unanswered at the time of filing this report.
