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Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that he does not subscribe to the idea of “One Nigeria,” insisting that regional autonomy remains the only viable solution to the country’s challenges.
He employed a veiled reference, calling President Bola Tinubu ‘Escobar’ in the text, without explicitly stating his identity.
Pablo Escobar, the notorious Colombian drug lord, has become a nickname used online by some opponents of President Tinubu.
The nickname is rooted in long-standing allegations from the 1990s, when Tinubu was linked to a drug trafficking investigation in the United States.
Court records show that Tinubu forfeited $460,000 to the U.S. government in connection with a cocaine-related case.
Although he was never convicted, critics have used this forfeiture to question his integrity and draw parallels to Pablo Escobar, who was one of the most notorious drug traffickers in history.
In a post shared on his X handle on Tuesday, Bashir El-Rufai expressed strong dissatisfaction with the current structure of Nigeria, stating that the persistent blame games between different regions of the country can only be addressed through regional autonomy.
He said, “Regional autonomy can easily solve this situation of blame games. It is crucial as all citizens of said regions would be cognisant of who they can directly hold responsible for their woes.”
El-Rufai dismissed the idea of a unified national identity, calling it “esoteric” and unconvincing.
“I don’t believe in this esoteric concept of ‘One Nigeria’. Escobar & I can agree on that,” he added, in what many have interpreted as a jab at President Tinubu.
Meanwhile, El-Rufai’s statement echoes a decades-old stance once attributed to Tinubu himself. In a ThisDay report dated April 13, 1997, Tinubu was quoted as saying: “I don’t believe in One Nigeria.”
The old report suggested that President Tinubu, during his years as an opposition figure, once expressed skepticism about Nigeria’s unity.
Earlier, in February 2025, El-Rufai warned that President Tinubu, whom he likened to Pablo Escobar, would be making his greatest mistake if he attempted to arrest his father.
He said, “I have been hearing these same rumours of arrest, detention and torture in some dungeon in the NSA’s office (where Emefiele was allegedly tortured to resign as CBN governor) since July 2024 when the so-called report of the Kaduna Assembly began circulating.
“Na the biggest mistake Pablo Escobar & his henchmen will make.”
On July 31, 2024, Bashir El-Rufai again mocked President Tinubu as Pablo, ridiculed the first lady, Remi Tinubu, and praised Peter Obi as a potential presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
In his post, El-Rufai predicted that Obi would win the next election before the first lady could finish preparing breakfast on election day.
“Obi as a flag bearer with a strong Northern candidate would defeat Pablo on Election Day before our dear mother of the Nation — Aunty Remi finishes his breakfast around 12 noon,” El-Rufai said.
While praising former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as “a force to be reckoned with”, El-Rufai hinged his prediction of victory for the opposition on “the sheer force of Obi’s numbers and cult-like follower-ship brings a challenge”.
“His appeal across the youth and this younger generation is one profound aspect of his leverage,” he said.
