Former Governor of Sokoto State and Peoples Democratic Party chieftain Attahiru Bafarawa has responded to Kaduna State Governor Nasir El‑Rufai’s claim that there are no elders left in northern Nigeria. Bafarawa described the remark as an affront to the North and said it was unpleasant for El‑Rufai to label all northerners as “bad eggs.” He made these comments while reacting to El‑Rufai’s interview with the BBC, in which the Kaduna governor alleged that some elements were sabotaging the All Progressives Congress (APC) by using new naira notes to affect the party’s electoral prospects.
El‑Rufai insisted that Bola Tinubu must win the election, regardless of public opinion, and claimed that the whole North supports the APC. Bafarawa countered that no individual has the right to impose a candidate on others, noting, “We will shock them and make them understand that this country belongs to nobody, likewise the North.” He emphasized that campaigning for Tinubu should not be equated with campaigning for any other candidate.
Quoting El‑Rufai, Bafarawa highlighted the governor’s statement: “On the issue of elders, there is nothing like elders; I am also an elder. I will be 63 years old in 2023, so who are the elders in the North? We, the northern governors, are the elders and we are the leaders of the North.” Bafarawa argued that age does not automatically confer responsibility, pointing out that youthful individuals who reason well can be more valuable than someone who is a hundred years old. He questioned El‑Rufai’s focus on his own age, asking, “He is talking about being 63—doesn’t he see that there are still elders left in the North?”
The former governor concluded that El‑Rufai’s comments lack responsibility and respect. He called for statements that promote the development of the North and the country as a whole, noting, “El‑Rufai talked about contesting elections and winning; if this is what he calls responsible, we have contested and won before him.”
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