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Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has questioned the decision to single out Rabiu Kwankwaso over the implementation of Sharia law in northern Nigeria, noting that 12 states adopted the law.
Speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Friday, El-Rufai said it was unfair to target Kwankwaso when several other northern governors implemented similar laws.
“Look, 12 northern states implemented Sharia, okay? The first state to do so was Zamfara. I thought Zamfara should be listed there, if at all anyone is to be blamed for this Sharia fiasco,” he said.
He explained that many northern governors followed Zamfara’s example, including Kano State. According to him, “Kwankwaso followed suit like many other northern governors. Kano did not do anything different in the way it implemented Sharia. Kano was not very strict.”
El-Rufai added that it was wrong to describe Kwankwaso as a fundamentalist.
“He is not one of those you would call a fundamentalist in this Sharia matter,” he said.
He also questioned why other former governors who promoted Sharia were not being mentioned.
“Nobody is mentioning people like Abdulaziz Yari and other governors that protected and promoted Sharia, people that cut off hands but it is Kwankwaso that is being targeted here. It makes me want to ask questions; where is this coming from?” he stated.
He suggested that political motives could be behind the targeting of Kwankwaso.
“Is it the nine billion dollars lobbying money that led to the listing of Kwankwaso because he has refused to move to the APC? The evil that this government is capable of is beyond your imagination. They may be behind it because Kwankwaso has refused to join APC. In fact, I can’t think of anyone else,” El-Rufai said.
He maintained that Nigerians should carefully examine the situation and avoid being influenced by political interests.
“As Nigerians, we should not get carried away. We must be very discerning,” he said.
On the broader issue of insecurity and claims of genocide, El-Rufai said the real concern should be the safety of all Nigerians.
“Whether Christian or Muslim, everyone is at risk. That is what we should be worried about. We need to ask difficult questions. This genocide of a thing is a domestic politics in the U.S, this has nothing to do with Nigeria,” he said.
El-Rufai defends Kwankwaso, questions targeting over Sharia implementation
