El-Rufai, Gov. Sani and Judas’ 30 pieces of silver

By Lanre Adewole  
The Bible is replete with verses on virtues and vices of friendship. Here are a few. Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for a time of adversity”. Proverbs 18:24 “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”.
Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”.
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”.
Proverbs 13:20 “Walk with the wise and be wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm”.
1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be misled, bad company corrupts good manner.”
Proverbs 27:6 “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses”.
Proverbs 12:26 “The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray”.
Proverbs 16:28 “A perverse person stirs up conflict and a gossip separates close friends.
Proverbs 22:24-25 “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered,  or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared."
The quoted scripture are from Jesus, the Word Himself (according to John 1:1) Apostle Paul, the convert who wrote the highest number of books in the Bible and King Solomon, the God-anointed wisest. I reached for the trio to make sense of the feud between clearly-resentful Nasir El-Rufai and his estranged godson, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, vis-a-vis the accusations and counter-accusations on themes of treachery, disloyalty, disrespect, ingratitude and god-complex among others, flying between their camps. Notably, since both gladiators unfriended themselves, the case before the public opinion court has been framed into just an issue for consideration; should the governor lead the charge to unmake the man that made him in life (almost all Sani’s life progress has been attributed to El-Rufai by his sympathisers), with the former governor being framed as the martyr and his successor, the Judas. The Kaduna quagmire mirrors what played out between then-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and now-President Bola Tinubu in the scramble for the presidential ticket of APC ahead the 2023 poll that gave birth to the (in)famous emilokan speech by Tinubu at a political rally in Abeokuta. At the June 2, 2022 declaration, Tinubu, who had his former protege Osinbajo as a major opponent, said in Yoruba language that it was turn of Yoruba to produce Nigeria’s president and in Yorubaland, it was his turn to represent the race at the zenith of political leadership. Five days after, he swept into a commanding victory over Osinbajo and their bond, tested by politics, broke, seemingly, irretrievably. Those in esoteric business claimed that the election was won and lost at the Abeokuta rally when Tinubu declared his ascendancy. I don’t really know much about that, but suspected Osinbajo boys in government were weeded when Tinubu took office, including one that was widely celebrated home and abroad weeks earlier for breaking new enforcement ground for better protection for Nigerian consumers. In the public opinion court, Tinubu was largely the betrayed, Osinbajo, the Judas, the unkind label he was publicly adorned with,  mostly by Yoruba supporters of Asiwaju, his publicly-annotated patron.
Popular Yoruba crooner Yinka Ayefele, as usual, waxed lyrically and philosophically in one of his recent songs on why one should not bite the fingers feeding him, even if fleecing in the process (the concluding part, my addition since in-between most political discords, is lucre). The dancehall king blasted the ingratitude logic of if man rolls up his mat (withdraws support), God will unscroll and spread His rug (God will provide a better alternative), practically placing a curse on those embracing such concept as likely to be without either God’s or man’s help, going forward. He also warned against garrulous conducts toward a destiny helper once the helped has soared. He ended his tirade against ingratitude by equating an ingrate with an animal, before launching into massive appreciation of his supporters and backers home and abroad, including the current IGP, recently-shifted Force PRO, FIRS boss who he affectionately called his soup pot that mustn’t crack and GSM of Oyo, the Omituntun Governor. The Ipoti-Ekiti singer isn’t coining a new perspective. He is just, melodically rehashing the age-long Omoluabi protocol of the Yoruba race. Bishop David Oyedepo is fond of saying gratitude is an attitude that determines altitude in life. Beyond the didacticism, the rhyme always gets me.
This is in sync with God’s stance. He even says He will not share His glory with anyone, including carved idols (Isaiah 42:8).
I have watched the video of the incumbent governor crediting his immediate predecessor with practically all his adult-life achievements, in politics, business and other areas of life, including bailing him out of a crippling debt and awarding plots of choice land to him in Abuja, among other deeds a father might not even be able to render to his biological son. In a moment of inspiring humility, Sani told the gathering which appeared to be El-Rufai’s final exco meeting as governor, that contrary to the outgoing governor’s labeling of what was between them as friendship, he held Nasir as a mentor, a big brother and a leader. Without first disputing the authenticity of the clip which looked original to physical eyes, it would be sheer hypocrisy and ingratitude for the governor to turn around in his TV appearance and conveniently exclude his predecessor from his list of leaders and mentors where Gani Fawehinmi and President Bola Tinubu understandably featured prominently. Decency demands disagreeing without revisionism. That is where I give it to Osinbajo and Rauf Aregbesola in their disagreements with their political patron who is known to be overbearing. Both so far, are yet to disclaim his impactful hand in their stratospheric trajectory, though Aregbesola in particular, hasn’t kept his mouth shut that their association while it lasted, was reciprocal. Unfortunately, the underdog stories of heroism benefitting the top dog hardly resonate. It’s always met with the skepticism of what can the lesser man do for the man who appears to have everything. Maybe that is why the underdog is always stewing in seeming ingratitude since his beneficence hardly count, regardless of what it took to deliver them to the big man. What everyone would see is what the big man has done for the small man. The reciprocity which is always lost in the looming public perception that only the big man has something to offer, can be crushing for many underdogs. At the height of his frustration, Aregbesola lamented he almost made a god of Tinubu. You can imagine what would have gone into propitiating and libating at the altar of the half-god. Maybe that is the silent frustration Governor Sani is battling in communicating to the judging public that the relational with El-Rufai wasn’t a one-way traffic. And I can testify to his robust support for the unpopular El-Rufai’s 350 million dollar loan which has now become an albatross for the state. As a political ally and confidant, Sani must have been deeply involved in many of El-Rufai’s political battles and possibly coming off with indelible scars. You take bullet for the boss to demonstrate loyalty. Did Gombe governor Inuwa Yahaya in June not pledge to follow Tinubu into 2027 political battlefields blindfolded?
The blame-apportioning public hardly remembers the sacrifices of the helped as a token of appreciation to the helper when the going is good between them. Only their betrayal is remembered when things fall apart. Though Judas had long been identified as a thief by Jesus, at least he remained the financial secretary of His ministry until devil took total control of him and he sold self to ekwensu. Even at that, Uba Sani doesn’t have to recount his reciprocated benevolence towards his former leader. God sees hearts of men and rules in their affairs. He should emulate Osinbajo. He should also not disown the El-Rufai ladder God used in propping him up. Yes, he is public whipping boy now but he can face the business of governance without the distraction of I-be-your-leader, you-are-not-my-leader. If he delivered for his people, the same Nigerians putting Judas label on him today, will applaud him for Making Kaduna Great Again (MAKAGA). Osinbajo was reportedly involved in managing Tinubu’s estate before the VP invite and struggle for Villa between them. Since the primary election was won and lost, he hasn’t said a word in more than three years to counter any narrative despite Tinubu moving against those he brought into the Buhari administration. That is maturity.
It’s also going to take maturity not to mock El-Rufai’s plight in Kaduna and Abuja. No doubt, he has an edge in his betrayal cases against Sani and President Bola Tinubu, considering his public assistance to their upswing political careers, but it is also tempting to say he is reaping what he sowed, considering many of his past patrons he had dumped for new friends his camp is now accusing Sani of making at the detriment of his old associations. There was Atiku Abubakar, then Olusegun Obasanjo, before he made the Buhari and Tinubu acquaintances. Now, he has new friends in Peter Obi and co. The Word of God says as long as the heaven and earth remaineth, seed time and harvest shall not cease.
The lessons in the El-Rufai/Sani’s fallout are numerous for those with hearts to learn and ears to hear. The Kaduna combat should be a crash course for those always offering their heads to crack coconut for crumbs. Those who feed from discord should also be careful. Even the fiercest of war gets attritional at a point. I only pity those who would run what Yoruba will call de toru toru (dangerful) errands during this escalation. Same for other states where gladiators eyes are still blazing red.
Jesus says let the dead bury their dead. I remember Obasanjo and Ayo Fayose’s “omo o le jo baba” dance before the bubble burst between them. If there are no elders in Kaduna to bring El-Rufai and Sani together, at least the peace of the state should not be compromised in their individual quest for ascendancy. What politics has joined together, power grab/state capture is always putting asunder, though the gladiators would never come into the open with the real reasons for ending the party early. May El-Rufai heal in Jesus name.

ADEWOLE is a columnist with Nigerian Tribune. (Culled from the Sunday Tribune, September 14, 2025)