Retired General faults Defence Minister Musa over El-Rufai remarks, calls them ‘Cheap Politics’

A retired Nigerian Army Major General and former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Danjuma Hamisu Ali-Keffi, has criticised Defence Minister Christopher Musa over his recent comments concerning former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

Ali-Keffi described Musa’s remarks as politically motivated and cautioned serving and retired senior military officers against being drawn into partisan political disputes.

Speaking in an interview with SaharaReporters, the retired general said military officers should exercise restraint when commenting on politically sensitive matters because their statements could be interpreted as representing the position of the military establishment.

“Generals should be very careful how we comment on political issues. We are not professional politicians. I mean, we should leave politics for politicians,” Ali-Keffi said.

“Our words carry a lot of weight. Our words are listened to by so many people, right? So we should be very careful.”

Ali-Keffi specifically challenged Musa’s allegation that El-Rufai paid bandits, demanding that the Defence Minister provide evidence to support the claim.

“He alleged, that is CG Musa alleged, that El-Rufai paid bandits. How? You have facts? Present it! Why are you keeping it? Present it!” he said.

The retired officer said he was disappointed by the comments from Musa, whom he described as his former friend.

“I am really disappointed in what the Minister of Defence and my erstwhile friend, I should say, General CG Musa, has done,” he added.

Drawing on his experience as GOC 1 Division, Ali-Keffi also disputed claims that El-Rufai prevented the military from conducting operations against armed groups in Kaduna State.

He said he never received any instruction from the former governor to spare criminal elements because of their ethnicity.

“El-Rufai never negotiated with bandits. El-Rufai never prevailed on us military people while I was the General Officer Commanding not to carry out operations against the Fulani. In fact, he said criminal Fulani person should not be spared!” Ali-Keffi said.

According to him, military clearance operations were conducted in different parts of Kaduna during El-Rufai’s tenure, while the state government provided intelligence to support security agencies.

Ali-Keffi also praised Samuel Aruwan, who served as Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs under El-Rufai, for maintaining regular communication with military commanders and providing intelligence that assisted security operations.

The retired general recalled that he sometimes contacted El-Rufai ahead of military clearance operations to request that residents be warned to stay away from areas where troops were to be deployed.

He said El-Rufai initially questioned the need for such warnings, arguing that some people remaining in forests could be assisting criminal elements.

Ali-Keffi, however, said he explained to the former governor that the military had an obligation to minimise civilian casualties and collateral damage during operations.

According to him, El-Rufai eventually accepted the military’s position and did not interfere with the operations.

The retired general also questioned the timing of Musa’s criticism of the former governor, suggesting that the Defence Minister would not have made such remarks when El-Rufai was still politically powerful.

“Where’s your chivalry? The man is down. Why didn’t he say that when [he] was gone up? He didn’t have the liver, no stomach,” Ali-Keffi said.

“That to me is far-fetched. That to me is plain politics, and cheap politics at that matter.”

He warned that senior military officers could damage their professional credibility by becoming openly involved in political disagreements.

Ali-Keffi, however, stressed that his defence of El-Rufai against Musa’s allegations should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the former governor’s entire record in office.

He recalled that he had previously disagreed with El-Rufai, including over the demolition of a property he said belonged to him around the National Eye Centre area in Mando, Kaduna.

“I would not have said these things I am saying but it is very unfair for the Minister of Defence Christopher Musa to have gone after El-Rufai. I don’t support some of the things that El-Rufai did, no,” he said.

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