Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai has sparked a storm by alleging that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is sliding into authoritarianism.
El-Rufai, who has long been a prominent fixture in Nigeria’s political space, did not mince words. “The Tinubu administration is veering toward authoritarianism, in a manner reminiscent of Cameroon’s Paul Biya, who has remained in power since 1982,” he declared.
The statement was intended as a warning shot against what he perceives as creeping strongman rule. But for many Nigerians, it rang more like a satirical echo than a revelation. Critics were quick to point out that El-Rufai himself is part of Nigeria’s class of recycled politicians who have been in and out of power corridors for decades, men who wield authority with an iron fist in one breath, and cry foul in the next.
Observers note the irony: a former governor, minister, and perennial power player now posturing as democracy’s watchman. “When El-Rufai lectures on authoritarianism, it feels like the pot calling the kettle black,” a political analyst quipped.
By comparing Tinubu to Biya, Africa’s longest-surviving ruler after Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, El-Rufai no doubt intended to sound the alarm. Instead, many Nigerians saw in his remarks a ridiculous reflection of the political class, one that condemns in others what it quietly practices itself.
As the presidency remains silent on the provocation, El-Rufai’s outburst has at least achieved one thing: exposing, once again, the paradox of Nigeria’s ruling elite forever pointing fingers while conveniently forgetting the mirrors in front of them.
