EL-RUFAI AND THE ‘CODE OF SILENCE’
JOSHUA OCHEJA contends that El-Rufai is an insider who moralises against the system
My father once told me a story about how he was constantly undermined by some folks at his workplace. He mentioned that their motives were mischievous. He remained unperturbed. He only took note of their actions and related them to their motives. At some point, they thought they were succeeding. However, he kept his records and timelines up to date. He waited patiently for the right time to strike, and he did after a miscalculation by one of them. At the end of the day, he had the last laugh. And they lived to regret their actions. This story is not real. It was made up to explain how Nasir el-Rufai broke the “code of silence” with his recent actions. In high-level politics, the “code of silence” isn’t just about keeping secrets; it’s about maintaining deniability.
El-Rufai’s recent outburst is indicative of someone who conflicts with himself. And he is going about it the wrong way, too. He is bringing to the fore everything he was a part of when the going was good. He alluded to being an “accidental public servant”. And he indeed made some mistakes. It is normal to make mistakes. But it is abnormal to live in denial by framing oneself as a saint among sinners. This is the A-Z of his recent predicament.
Emotional intelligence is a complex concept. Its political definition differs from its literary meaning. El-Rufai is articulate, persuasive, and evokes public sympathy. But he failed the political emotional intelligence test by confusing personal “brilliance” for a shield against a system that operates on the “code of silence.” He also failed the survivalist test of discretion that the “code of silence” reveres. This is what happens when you try to be clever by half. As a former Director General of an agency, minister, and state governor, he is a creation of a “system” that rewards and punishes in equal measures. These roles are prone to scrutiny. Those with these roles are glasshouse owners in Nigeria. Glasshouse owners are always circumspect, unless they want to be mischievous. And such behaviour comes at a political price.
El-Rufai’s stewardship as governor of Kaduna State is under scrutiny. The talk around town is that there is substantial evidence that his books are not exactly clean. I can bet that El-Rufai is politically dizzy at the moment. Any politician would be dizzy in El-Rufai’s current situation. I haven’t seen a politician on the radar of the EFCC, ICPC, and DSS simultaneously in our recent history. El-Rufai is the first. He always wants to be the first in everything. The “enfant terrible” is his nickname. But I can tell from a distance that this is not a good “first”. His saving grace would be that he did not act like a politician while he held sway. In the political world, some things are not meant for public consumption. Discretion is the better part of valour.
The law is not objective; it operates like a computer. It does not advise you; it merely processes the data you give it. El-Rufai will likely be charged in court. He will likely be remanded and might be denied bail. If the law wants to be an “ass,” El-Rufai will spend a good time in remand. The law and politics are friends. It may be objective in its text, but the timing of its application is often where it “shakes hands” with politics. No amount of public sensationalism can swing things in his favour. We all know politics is a brutal, slippery floor. There is very little room for a second chance. Once you are down politically, it is usually difficult to rise again. Then such a politician will bear the political title of “elder statesman,” as someone who still has a voice but no longer has a vote or a seat at the table.
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, another strong opposition voice, was recently quoted as saying, “El-Rufai is difficult to advise, and it’s better if he stops digging.” I agree with this position. El-Rufai might end up digging the pit of his fall. A political pit is often deep. There is a politician in Nigeria who dug his own pit and has not been successful in getting out of the pit despite several attempts. I don’t know what prompted El-Rufai to take this path. It was a brazen effrontery to cause reputational damage to the “system” he benefited immensely from. If the law could advise, some politicians would have been relevant today.
El-Rufai admitted on live TV that he knew someone who tapped the phone conversation of the National Security Adviser, and he boasted about it. He made it impossible for the “system” to ignore him. What argument would his lawyers advance in his defence? Was he quoted out of context, or is he a victim of political persecution? I cannot recall any politician in Nigeria who acted like El-Rufai and had pleasant stories to tell afterwards. The Tinubu he is vehemently against was once his benefactor. What would the APC be like without Tinubu, even before he was elected president in 2023? This was the platform that made El-Rufai the governor of Kaduna state for eight years. My concern is that his attacks against Tinubu have been personal. Once you can read between the lines of his recent posturing, you will see that his strategy is not logical. It appears dead on arrival. This is not political persecution.
Dhananjay Jagannathan, a professor of philosophy at Hunter College – City University of New York, in his work, “Morality and the Aims of Politics,” argued that “Any political moralism that is worth defending must account for the complex relationships between goods at the level of society and goods that matter in individual lives.” He warns that moralism becomes a “tug of war” when a leader tries to act like a “saint” while managing a “stormy” political landscape. The recent El-Rufai saga exemplifies this, being an act of political moralism solely for political expediency.
We must take note of this and be circumspect in our public postulations on the El-Rufai saga. He gambled wrongly because he is a product of the same system he is hell-bent against. It’s only natural for the system to fight back. When the system fights you, your chances of survival are slim. Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution is one of the most controversial sections of our Constitution. It states thus: “The Attorney General of the Federation (acting on behalf of the President) has the power to discontinue any criminal proceedings at any stage before judgment.” This is instructive. I don’t envy El-Rufai. He has boxed himself into an unholy corner. He is a “system insider” who has broken the “code of silence.” A system insider who moralises against the “system” is viewed as treacherous. And he would be treated as such. This is my take. And I stand to be corrected.
Ocheja, PhD, is a military historian and alumnus of the Nigerian Defence Academy
