By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), 19 Northern states and Abuja, Rev. John Joseph Hayab, has accused former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, of plunging the state into sorrow through mismanaged conflicts and massive loans used for selective projects.
Rev. Hayab faulted the former governor’s urban renewal programme, alleging that it was biased and concentrated only in selected areas, leaving many Christian communities in Kaduna metropolis neglected.
“He collected huge loans to develop one region, leaving others abandoned. Then he turned around to say he had no regrets. That is not the mark of a leader with conscience,” Hayab said on TVC’s Politics Tonight.
He lamented that under El-Rufai’s watch, Southern Kaduna communities were left to bury scores of victims of violence in mass graves, yet the former governor continues to insist he has no regrets. “For him to still say he has no regrets shows he governed without conscience and carried out those actions deliberately,” he added.
Hayab also rejected El-Rufai’s claim of downplaying Southern Kaduna’s population, describing it as a calculated attempt to justify political decisions such as the Muslim-Muslim ticket. He maintained that the region’s eight local government areas account for over 35 percent of the state’s population, rising above 50 percent when Kajuru, Chikun, and Kaduna South are included.
The CAN leader recalled that he initially supported El-Rufai in 2015 but later discovered him to be intolerant and dismissive. “El-Rufai does not have grace in speech. He lacked maturity as a leader and even insulted the North by saying there are no elders. A true elder unites people, not divides them,” he said.
Hayab concluded that El-Rufai’s recent comments are driven by bitterness, noting that the relative peace now enjoyed in Kaduna stands in contrast to the insecurity that marked his administration.
“He is angry because Kaduna is no longer burying people daily as it used to under his tenure. That is why he is making statements capable of stirring fresh problems,” Hayab maintained.
