Dr UCHE DIALA
I stumbled upon a Facebook post by Aluga David. I read the post and the attached letter severally and I have been pondering over a number of things since then for a number of reasons.
1) My own experience since I was privileged to come close to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
2) The many things that have been said on the streets about Mallam El-Rufai, mostly by people who either truly do not know him, have never associated or worked closely with him or who may have a beef with him, either during his tenure as a public servant and office holder or mostly since his fall out with the present administration.
I thought it wise to share my thoughts. Maybe it can help someone.
After reading the post, I couldn’t help but notice more than a few contradictions between the experience publicly and voluntarily testified by Mr. David Aluga and some of what have been said by people about El-Rufai as well as an uncanny similarity between his (David’s) and my own experience as an Igbo Christian from Imo state, south East Nigeria with Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
Here is (was) a 60 something year old Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, a Northern Fulani Muslim and Governor of Kaduna state, as he then was, recommending a young Nigeria, David Aluga (who obviously is not related to and had nothing material to offer him), a Christian from Taraba State to his home state governor, another Christian, for an outstanding and rare academic opportunity simply because he (El-Rufai) believed it would not only add value to Mr. David as an individual, but also to Taraba state first (probably never to Kaduna state), then to Nigeria as large.
So much for one who has been referred to and regarded by some (including some mostly uninformed and misinformed people from my southern region, south east and Igbo tribe) as some kind of tribal bigot and religious zealot or extremist, all by mere hearsay. What a profound contradiction.
Pause for a moment and think about it. This surely does not make Mallam El-Rufai a saint, neither am I nor anyone reading this one, but it sure says something in and of itself about us, him and life in general.
I have never been a praise singer and I will never be one. I call it as it is, no matter who’s ox is gored. I have not told about my personal experience with Mallam El-Rufai, which I surely will someday, but I can tell us for free, love or loathe him, that there is something that Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has that is going for him and which stands him out, especially among his contemporaries. That is his genuine intellectism.
True intellectism helps one to rise above not just inferiority complex but equally above tribal, religious, clanish and like primordial sentiments.
True intellectualism breeds humility and self confidence, which can often be mistaken for arrogance by the uninitiated.
True intellectualism makes one more able to easily and effortlessly identify the humanity, intellectualism, intelligence and talent in others, irrespective of tribal, religious, age, class, partisan and other boundaries.
A true intellectual is able to see people only for what they can bring to the table, intellectual and ideas wise. They are thus better able to attract the best brains around them, make good team leaders and to take objective and sound decisions, irrespective of who it might offend and ultimately deliver outstanding results. That stands them out.
The down side of it, unfortunately, is that such persons are often misunderstood, often out of envy and because they often can not be swayed negatively and emotionally and thus are often maligned and castigated, especially in a society like ours where mediocrity, anti-intellectualism and all manner of primordial sentiments are the working capital.
This has been the lot of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and many like him in our society and nation. However, rare and noble moments like this presented by the honest and grateful public attestation by David provide a teachable moment for anyone who sincerely wants to learn.
A couple of sublime lessons to learn from this, in my humble view are:
1) Do not judge a book by its cover.
Unfortunately, in our society and nation, we are often wont to judge people by other people’s opinions, without minding what drives those opinions.
This attitude is accentuated and sustained by our entrenched stereotypes and idiosyncrasies against other people, tribes and religion in addition to increasingly poor quality education that breeds low self esteem and that does not liberate the minds and promote independent and analytical reasoning. This provides a fertile ground for hate merchants and mischief makers, including unscrupulous polticians to ply their trade of sowing hate and division.
2) Especially to young and younger Nigerians.
Do not draw boundaries, especially of tribe and religion. You do not know where your God ordained helper will come from. God does not draw boundaries among men, neither does He recognise our artificial and man made divisions.
I recall and permit me to say this publicly, without seeking his permission, something that Mallam El-Rufai said to me in the course of our chit chat during my first private face to face meeting with him. He said: “Uche, contrary to what many might believe, at every point in my life and career that I have been lifted up, it was with the help of a Southerner”. How humbling, instructive and teachable that revelation was to me.
3) Finally, do not give up on your dreams.
Never stop believing or quit trying, inspite of disappointments, discouragements and or obstacles. Strive to continually prepare yourself and make yourself ready, available and help-able.
Do not allow yourself to be decieved or distracted by lazy tales and lies told and gossips spread about you and other people, as well as boundaries drawn by people mostly for their own hate and or selfish interests and gains. As they say, ‘do not inherit other people’s enemies’. Only a fool does that.
To Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, I say, do not be discouraged, as I know you are not, by what is spun and said by people behind your back. It is God’s validation that matters.
To Mr. David Aluga, I say congratulations on your perseverance and success and thank you for your nobility and spirit of gratitude.
Below is the referenced public attestation by Mr. David Aluga. I hope it inspires and blesses someone today.
“Three years ago, Malam Nasir El-Rufai saw the potential in me and sent this personal letter directly to the then Executive Governor of my State, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku, CON, on my behalf. I confirmed that the letter was received by the Taraba State Government House, but no response was given to me even after following up on multiple occasions.
I went further to secure the prestigious SPHeRE PhD Scholarship funded by the Health Research Board in Ireland. Only six people were awarded this scholarship out of about 300 applicants.
The lesson of this is that human beings do not determine your destiny; God does. Imagine if I were still waiting to receive a response from the Taraba State Government. As a young person, Nigeria would keep failing and disappointing you, but it is your responsibility not to give up on your dreams.
God bless you and have a good night.” ~ David Aluga
By the way, David’s case aptly validates something I was told by another young man who was identified by Mallam El-Rufai and given the wings to fly, thus: “Mallam has two weakness. Young people and women. He wants young people to be given an advantage to succeed and excel, and he feels that women are marginalised and disadvantaged and should be supported and encouraged”.
I will say more of what I have been privileged to learn about and from the maverick of our time, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai someday, God willing.
This is no politics. As the word of God says: “Wisdom is profitable to direct”.
©️ Uche Diala
