By Christopher Ameh
BAUCHI — A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Bauchi State and loyalist of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Khamis Musa Darazo, has said the governance challenges associated with former Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai, were felt across the state and not limited to Southern Kaduna.
Darazo stated this on Saturday in Bauchi while reacting to what he described as attempts by some commentators to give a sectional or religious interpretation to recent remarks by the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, during an interview on Channels Television.
He said the minister’s reference to “our people” should be understood within the broader context of Kaduna State and not as referring exclusively to Southern Kaduna.
According to Darazo, “The reality is that the grievances surrounding El-Rufai’s style of governance were felt across Kaduna State and not exclusively by the people of Southern Kaduna.”
The APC chieftain maintained that Musa’s comments were not a criticism of El-Rufai on religious grounds, describing such an interpretation as misplaced.
“The Minister did not call out Nasiru El-Rufai because he is a Muslim. That interpretation is completely misplaced.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani are both Muslims, yet both have continued to demonstrate efforts toward reducing division and promoting unity,” he said.
Darazo urged Nigerians to avoid turning the issue into a religious or regional confrontation, saying he would not support attempts to exploit the matter to deepen existing divisions.
“As a loyalist of President Tinubu and someone who believes strongly in national unity, I will not support attempts to turn this matter into a religious or regional confrontation,” he said.
He further explained that the expression “our people” should be understood as referring to Kaduna State residents as a whole.
“Our people can never mean only Southern Kaduna. It means the people of Kaduna State as a whole.
“Different communities experienced different challenges, and it is unfair to erase the experiences of others by presenting the matter as though it concerned only one section of the state,” Darazo said.
He urged Nigerians to consider the minister’s comments within their proper context and focus on the substance of the concerns raised rather than what he described as attempts to twist the statement into a religious or sectional narrative.
Darazo said the priority should be responsible leadership capable of promoting peace, justice, unity and security across the country.
“Kaduna belongs to all its people, and no community should be made to feel that its experience does not matter,” he added.
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