Premium News
El-Rufai is not flippant. He is not naive. What he did on national television openly claiming that the phone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was tapped was calculated, deliberate, and strategic. This was not a slip of the tongue. This was a political chess move designed to unsettle the Tinubu administration, expose cracks within its inner workings, and force them into a defensive posture.
Those who rush to call for his arrest or dismiss his statements as recklessness are missing the point. El-Rufai understands power, attention, and narrative. He knows that in modern politics, controlling discourse is as important as controlling office. By speaking boldly and publicly, he defines the battlefield on his terms, forces reactions, and shifts focus to his chosen targets. He doesn’t merely provoke; he manipulates the perception of power to his advantage.
Silence, for him, is never neutral it is weakness.
El-Rufai’s history demonstrates this mastery. As a former DG of BPE, former Minister of the FCT, and two-term governor, he understands the weight of his words and the consequences of his actions. He knows how to play high-stakes political games, and he knows when to bait opponents in this case, Tinubu’s administration into making mistakes.
The admission of phone tapping is not reckless bravado; it is a calculated trap designed to shake up the government’s internal machinery and create panic, confusion, and overreach. This is where institutional credibility intersects with political theatre. If the NSA’s line was truly compromised, that raises urgent questions about intelligence, security protocols, and the integrity of government communications. But even if El-Rufai’s claim is rhetorical, the psychological impact is undeniable. Tinubu and his lieutenants now have to scramble, reassess, and protect their operations and every move under pressure is susceptible to error.
Furthermore, El-Rufai’s vocal dominance reflects a deeper strategic principle: attention equals power. He creates conversation, dictates public discourse, and ensures that the country debates on his terms. Whether people admire him or despise him, he dominates the narrative. This is the political reality for anyone trying to undermine him.
The days when he could be dismissed as irrelevant or impulsive are long gone.
Finally, this is not merely about one politician versus another. It is about institutional exposure, strategic leverage, and the consequences of underestimating another master strategist.
Tinubu may have believed he controlled internal opposition; El-Rufai has proven that even insiders with vast knowledge and audacity can unsettle the system. Every reaction, every panic move from the government, now plays into his hands and the ripple effects could favor opposition forces and reshape political calculations leading up to 2027.
In short: El-Rufai is deliberate, strategic, and unflinching. He understands that in politics, power is both spoken and seized. The Tinubu administration has just been reminded that controlling state machinery doesn’t guarantee controlling the narrative especially when the other side knows the game intimately.
