Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has sparked controversy by likening Nigeria’s current political direction to Cameroon under long-time ruler Paul Biya, warning that President Bola Tinubu could attempt to stay in power indefinitely unless Nigerians act decisively in the 2027 election.
El-Rufai made the remarks on Friday evening during a solidarity visit from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, following reports that APC supporters attacked him at the inauguration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna State.
“It’s a disgrace for people to behave the way they are behaving, it means all the years we were for democracy and NADECO was all fake, a pretense, all the claims we are fighting for, true federalism is all fake,” he said, condemning what he sees as a dangerous centralization of power under the Tinubu administration.
He warned that if unchecked, the current system could lead to an extended presidency. “This government is trying to centralize everything instead of devolving powers to the lower levels but the sum total of this is that we are facing an evil of a large proportion in the history of this country that if we don’t come together to end this Tinubu administration in 2027, Tinubu will try to be our Paul Biya, he would be president for life, all the signs are there, this is how Paul Biya started.”
El-Rufai urged Atiku to use his political experience to rally Nigerians. “You are our leader and you have experience in democratic governance. When you and Obasanjo were in power, no man has been imprisoned because he had a different political reason, even Buhari with his military background never did that, but here we are facing full-fledged oppression.”
Describing the APC government as more repressive than past military regimes, El-Rufai added, “This is worse than any military regime we’ve ever had. Your call that we must unite is a healthy one. I think the people of Nigerians have made up their mind that this government, APC, must go.”
By invoking Paul Biya — who has ruled Cameroon for more than 40 years — El-Rufai framed his warning as a serious alert about the risk of entrenched authoritarianism and the erosion of Nigeria’s democratic values.
