Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has broken his silence from detention, stating that he holds no bitterness toward people he once supported who have remained silent during his current difficulties. In a statement titled "My Relationships and the Aftermath," published on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday, September 23, El-Rufai said adversity had helped him see certain relationships more clearly.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain acknowledged that some people had reached out to him, expressing surprise at the silence of individuals he had publicly backed or worked closely with over the years. He noted the concern but was clear that he did not wish to judge anyone for it.
El-Rufai Reflects on Support Given Without Expectation
In his statement, El-Rufai wrote: "Over the years, I have stood by people and for causes I believed in, sometimes in difficult circumstances and at considerable personal cost. I did so not in expectation of praise, gratitude or reciprocity, but because I believed it was right."
He said the experience had given him a clearer picture of some of his relationships, noting that people he had supported were free to respond to his situation however they chose, including by denying they ever knew him or rewriting the history of their association. "Some may speak; others may remain silent. Others may even deny our relationship or try rewriting history. Their reasons are their own, and I do not wish to judge them merely because their response differs from what others — or even I — might have expected," he added.
Adversity Illuminates Relationships, Says El-Rufai
El-Rufai described the moment as one of personal reflection rather than anger, framing it as part of a broader process of seeing people and life more clearly. "Adversity has a way of illuminating relationships," he wrote, while stressing that what he had learnt should not be taken as a condemnation of anyone.
The former governor was firm that his principles remained unchanged and that he had no regrets about the support he had extended to others in the past. He also ruled out any desire for revenge over what he described as injustice, ingratitude or injury. "I have no regrets about standing by people or for causes when I believed it was right to do so, and I bear no resentment towards anyone who chooses not to do the same for me," he said.
El-Rufai Leaves Judgment to God, Focuses on 2027 Mobilisation
El-Rufai added that he was leaving all accountability to God. "As for any injustice, ingratitude or injury done to me, I seek neither revenge nor retribution. Ultimate accountability belongs to Almighty Allah, and I leave that judgment to Him, in this world and in the Hereafter," he wrote. He closed by saying that every person would eventually answer for the choices they made, and that his only concern was to remain at peace with his conscience and with God.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a source in the opposition privy to the ongoing developments confirmed that El-Rufai was not contesting any elective position in the 2027 election. The source said El-Rufai was only focused on mobilising against President Bola Tinubu's second-term agenda. One prominent associate of former vice president Atiku Abubakar, who contested the 2023 presidential election but lost to Tinubu, and now relating with El-Rufai, divulged that the ex-Kaduna governor is focused on sending Tinubu and his people back to Lagos.
