MINISTER ACCUSES EX-KADUNA GOVERNOR OF “DIVIDE AND RULE” POLITICS, SAYS TINUBU IS PASSIONATE ABOUT NIGERIA’S PROGRESS
Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Christopher Musa, has sparked a fresh political controversy after suggesting that the country could have experienced a significantly different situation if former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai were still politically active within the current national landscape.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Musa accused the former governor of promoting what he described as a “divide and rule” approach to politics, arguing that Nigeria needs leaders focused on unity rather than exploiting the country’s differences.
The Defence Minister also expressed strong confidence in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying his interactions with the President had convinced him that Tinubu genuinely wants Nigeria to progress.
“Tinubu loves this country,” Musa said, adding that discussions with the President had shown him “somebody who has a passion for Nigeria, who wants Nigeria to change and things to move forward.”
Musa said the country should reject political strategies capable of deepening ethnic, religious or regional divisions.
“So that’s where we are looking at. We don’t want people that will come in and start dividing this,” he said.
The Minister then made a pointed reference to El-Rufai.
“And I can tell you, I am not a prophet. If probably El-Rufai had been around, a lot of things would have gone different because he loves that divide and rule. And that’s the issue,” Musa stated.
The comment is likely to intensify the already heated political debate surrounding El-Rufai, particularly as Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 general elections.
Musa further argued that politicians who rely on divisive politics should not determine the country’s future.
“We shouldn’t have politicians that play that kind of game. Maybe in the past, this is a new Nigeria. We’re trying to move forward,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to shift attention away from political divisions and concentrate on issues that can strengthen the country.
“Let us forget about all these aspects and think as Nigerians what makes Nigeria tick. That’s what everybody should work for,” the Defence Minister added.
Musa’s comments come amid continuing political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections, with former political allies and opposition figures increasingly taking sharply different positions on the direction of the country.
El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State and former Federal Capital Territory minister, has remained an influential figure in Nigerian politics despite leaving the governorship in 2023.
His relationship with the Tinubu administration has also become increasingly strained, with the former governor previously criticising aspects of the Federal Government’s policies and subsequently becoming associated with opposition political realignment efforts.
Musa’s intervention places the Defence Minister among senior members of the Tinubu administration publicly defending the President while simultaneously attacking what he sees as divisive political tendencies.
The Minister’s remarks, however, also raise broader questions about the role of political rhetoric in Nigeria’s increasingly competitive pre-2027 environment.
While Musa framed his position around national unity, El-Rufai and his political allies may challenge the characterisation of his political record as “divide and rule.”
For now, the Defence Minister’s message is clear: he believes Nigeria’s future should be built around national cohesion, development and continuity rather than political strategies that exploit existing divisions.
With the 2027 elections approaching, however, the battle over competing political visions is only beginning.
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