El-Rufai Angry Because of Sustainable Peace in Kaduna – Hayab
… CAN leader says everything El-Rufai promotes is evil
By Austine Agbo Emmanuel, Kaduna
The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, Reverend John Joseph Hayab, has said former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, is angry because sustainable peace has returned to the state, a reality that contradicts the divisive politics he once thrived on.
Hayab, reacting to El-Rufai’s recent comments on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, explained that the former governor’s insistence that Southern Kaduna accounts for less than 25 percent of the state’s population, and his boast of having no regrets over his actions toward the region, only reinforced his hostility toward unity.
According to the cleric, El-Rufai’s latest outburst is proof that he remains uncomfortable with the peace currently being enjoyed across Kaduna. “Everything El-Rufai promotes is evil, and his bitterness now is simply because harmony among the people has weakened his divisive agenda,” Hayab stated.
He recalled that during a previous national census, the population of Southern Kaduna was so overwhelming that the Kaduna State Shariah Committee threatened legal action against the National Population Commission. That episode, he said, demonstrated that the region’s numbers were significant and could not be dismissed.
Despite the fact that some in Southern Kaduna are pastors who do not marry multiple wives, Hayab noted that many families in the area still have fifteen to twenty-three children, further confirming that the region’s population is robust and cannot be written off.
The CAN leader alleged that what has often distorted population figures in Kaduna is not a shortage of people in Southern Kaduna, but deliberate inflation of statistics in other parts of the state to create an illusion of dominance.
He also expressed disappointment that El-Rufai could openly boast about not regretting his policies against Southern Kaduna communities, stressing that such a posture only exposed the depth of his disdain for the people he once governed.
Dismissing El-Rufai’s claim that only those who do not know him call him a fundamentalist, Hayab said he personally knew the former governor and was speaking from the painful experiences of Southern Kaduna under his administration.
He further argued that future census exercises must include religion and ethnicity to prevent manipulative leaders from distorting demographic realities for political convenience.
Reverend Hayab, therefore, urged Nigerians to reject divisive narratives and embrace fairness, justice, and inclusivity, warning that the country’s unity can only be strengthened when truth is upheld and all citizens are treated with dignity.
