‘I was naive to criticise you’ — el-Rufai’s son apologises to Goodluck Jonathan

Bello el-Rufai, a member of the house of representatives from Kaduna north, says that he was naive to have criticised former President Goodluck Jonathan during his administration.

Bello, who is the son of Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna, said he is sorry for criticising Jonathan’s administration.

The lawmaker added that he failed to realise that Nigeria had good governance under Jonathan due to his naivety.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday evening, the lawmaker said his naivety came to the fore when he saw his father preparing to visit Jonathan for political consultation.

Bello recalled paying his father a visit and noticed that he was going out and asked where he was going.

“And he said he was going to see President Jonathan, and I paused because when I was naive or when I thought ego or gratification mattered, I used to be very active in criticising President Jonathan,” he said.

“I even forgot in my naivety as many young people do, that we had governance then and I found my father saying that he is going to consult President Jonathan. I said, ‘please when you see him, tell him I am very sorry, I am wiser now’.

“The system is a problem. Now, why did I mention President Jonathan? It takes a lot, particularly in Africa, to lose an election and leave, he did that.”

El-Rufai and his family reportedly criticised Jonathan’s government harshly following the selection of Namadi Sambo as vice-president.