Onanuga cites Obasanjo, says El-Rufai ‘suffering from small man syndrome’

In a sharp response to recent criticisms levelled by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai against President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, has shared a damning excerpt from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s memoir, describing El-Rufai as suffering from the “small man syndrome.”

Quoting from “My Watch” Vol 2, pages 110-112, the excerpt delivers a blistering character assessment of El-Rufai, describing him as suffering from the “small man syndrome,” compounded by “psychological and upbringing problems.”

Onanuga’s post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday comes days after El-Rufai, a former ally of President Tinubu, publicly criticized the current government on Arise TV.

El-Rufai, who supported Tinubu in the 2023 elections, reportedly stated that “God saved me from the disaster called Tinubu’s government” and claimed the president would be “lucky to come third” in the 2027 election, citing internal polling data.

The resurfaced excerpt from Obasanjo’s book, published in 2015, offers a deep dive into the former President’s troubled relationship and unflattering perception of El-Rufai, who served under him as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

Obasanjo’s critique begins by addressing what he calls “the greatest insult” El-Rufai “piled on me by the comment he ascribed to me in his book, The Accidental Public Servant, on the issue of the third term.”

The former President goes on to state: “Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological. … At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir el-Rufai. He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends.”

Obasanjo recounted instances where El-Rufai allegedly “ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle… and what he did to his half-brother in the Air Force.”

Obasanjo acknowledged El-Rufai’s talent, noting he “can always deliver under close supervision.” However, he stressed El-Rufai’s significant character flaws, including “his naivety and immaturity” and “inability to give honour to whom honour is due,” which led him to dismiss suggestions of El-Rufai as a potential successor during his presidency.

He concluded his assessment with profound psychological observations: “My vivid recollection of him is a penchant for lying, for unfair embellishment of stories and his inability to sustain loyalty for long… He was described as a malicious liar. He was more than that; he is a pathological purveyor of untruths and half-truths with little or no regard for integrity.”

Obasanjo attributed some of El-Rufai’s perceived character issues to his upbringing, lamenting, “One may also wonder how much his losing his father at the tender age of eight years had rendered him devoid of fatherly care, guidance and paternal direction and home training.”

The powerful excerpt culminates in the direct diagnosis: “Nasir suffers from the ‘small man syndrome’ coupled with psychological and upbringing problems.”

“…. I should bring up my comments on Nasir el-Rufai here because of the greatest insult he piled on me by the comment he ascribed to me in his book, The Accidental Public Servant, on the issue of the third term.

“Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological. Why does he do it? Very early in my interaction with him, I appreciated his talent. At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir el-Rufai. He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends. I have heard of how he ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who, in an African setting, was like a foster father to him. I shuddered when I heard the story of what he did to his half-brother in the Air Force, who is senior to him in age”.

“A leader must know the character and ability of his subordinates. Character-wise, Nasir does not have much going for him. But he is a talented young man who can always deliver under close supervision. So, when Osita Chijoka approached, among others, propping Nasir as my possible successor, believing that whoever I supported would make it, which was a false belier; I did not hesitate to point to Nasir’s naivety and immaturity, talk less of his inability to give honour to whom honour is due”.

El-Rufai, who recently resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and reportedly joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as positions himself as a prominent critic of the Tinubu administration.

READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE