Former Minister of the Capital
Territory and prolific writer, Mallam Nasir el Rufai has suspended his weekly
column in Thisday newspapers. Before now El-Rufai On
Friday features on Thisday back page. Announcing his decision on Facebook,
El-Rufai said: “My Friday Column, El-Rufai on Friday, will no longer appear on
the back page of Thisday.
“It will continue to be on the back
page of People’s
Daily and on other
web-based platforms. Thanks to all those that have read and encouraged me to
write the column. The Young Voices will also continue but on other print and
web-based platforms to be announced soon. All inconveniences are regretted.”
Further explaining what led to the
suspension of the weekly column, Mallam el rufai told elombah.com that the
publisher of Thisday newspaper Nduka Obaigbena asked him to
write exclusively for Thisday, but that after listening carefully to appeals
and explanation from friends in the newspaper house and thinking about it, he
decided he will not restrict his articles to Thisday.
“I am neither staff of Thisday nor
paid for the column. Nduka asked me to write and I agreed. He neither suggested
that it should be exclusive nor did anyone of us advert our minds to it. My
motive for writing the pieces is to enlighten more and more Nigerian about
governance and policy as it affects them, so the more non-duplicating platforms
the better. The fact that I use the platform to make GEJ’s gang uncomfortable
is just the icing on the cake,” El-Rufai explained.
Insinuating that asking him to write
exclusively for Thisday was an indirect way of Thisday succumbing to pressure from the
presidency and the ruling party to stop or to kill his column El-Rufai also
said: “I am aware from my administration sources that a lot of pressure is
being put on Nduka to kill the column, and I respect him for resisting so far,
but I have always known that with continuous attrition by an intimidating
government, it will happen. If demanding exclusivity gives an honourable exit,
so be it. I appreciate the opportunity given for the time it was given and I
will have no problems. After all, in this life, we all have to make our
personal calls. The fact that Nduka has chosen not to speak to me directly about
it but putting pressure on two of my closest friends in Thisday (Segun Adeniyi is the third) is both
unfair and unjust.”
E-Rufai is a chieftain of the
opposition CPC, the party of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) who was President
Goodluck Jonathan’s opponent in the 2011 presidential election.
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