Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has criticized the immediate past Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, accusing him of undermining democratic values and fostering political thuggery during his tenure.
Sani stated this amid the blame game between the former governor and the Kaduna State Government over the disruption of the inauguration of the transition committee members of the ADC coalition in the state by suspected thugs over the weekend.
Sani stated on TVC’s Politics Tonight on Monday that El-Rufai lacked a true knowledge of democracy because he never engaged in the effort to restore it in Nigeria.
“For people like Nasir, when they find themselves in a position or office, they don’t know what democracy is all about because they didn’t fight for it,” Sani said.
“He was an unknown figure before 1999 and became a PDP (member). He has never been in the cell for one. He has never been in prison. He has never worn handcuffs.”
Sani contrasted his own political journey with El-Rufai’s, stressing that he paid the price for Nigeria’s democracy through imprisonment and persecution.
“As you see me here, I have been through the rough times of my life. I’ve been through many prisons, I have been through many police stations. I wore prison uniforms. I wore leg chains, I wore handcuffs as a political prisoner fighting for this democracy that is 25 years old,” he stated.
The former lawmaker also accused the former governor of fostering a culture of political violence in Kaduna during his tenure.
“To show you that Nasir El-Rufai was the founder and the architect of thuggery, political violence and bloodshed in Kaduna State, within the time he served as a governor from 2015 to 2023, he has bred a group of thugs that became his unofficial force being used against political opponents,” he alleged.
Sani further criticized El-Rufai’s leadership style, describing him as arrogant and intolerant of dissent.
