A former Minister of the Federal Capital
Territory and Deputy National Secretary of the opposition All
Progressives Congress, Nasir el-Rufai, says he is not perturbed by the
seven-day ultimatum given to him by the leadership of the Christian
Association of Nigeria.
El-Rufai had, in an interview with a
national newspaper (not The PUNCH) described the CAN President, Pastor
Ayo Oritsejafor, as the “propaganda chief” of the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party; adding that he “knows who gave him (Oritsejafor) his
private jet.”
But the CAN leadership on Sunday asked
el-Rufai to, within seven days, mention the name of the person who
bought a private jet for Oritsejafor, threatening that failure to do so
will force the association to “open up” on the former minister’s “dirty
life.”
However, some of el-Rufai’s Twitter followers have tweeted at him, saying they were worried about the ultimatum.
One of his followers with the name
Demola, who tweeted at el-Rufai on Monday asked, “CAN gives @elrufai
seven days or what will happen?”
Responding to this, el-Rufai tweeted, “Nothing. And I am waiting for the days to pass. Hehehe.”
Meanwhile, el-Rufai’s statement has
pitched some of his social media fans against him. The former minister
had posted the full text of the interview on his Facebook page.
Some of his followers on the social
network described his diatribe against Oritsejafor as rude and uncalled
for. According to many of them, insulting the CAN President, who is
also the head of the Christian community in Nigeria, amounts to taking a
swipe at the generality of Christians in the country. To this end, some
of them dropped angry comments on his Facebook page.
“Look Nasir, withdraw those statements
you are making against a man of God! But, if you still insist, then, the
anointing upon his life will respond to you drastically. Remember that
a man who makes trouble for others is also making trouble for himself.
Thank you,” one Okechukwu Chukwuemeka wrote.
Osita Ndidi-Opurum described el-Rufai’s
allegations as “rubbish” and one that is capable of causing disaffection
between the faithful of the two main religions.
“All this lengthy speech amounts to
talking rubbish and insulting Christians and their leader in Nigeria.
When can you (el-Rufai) ever be a man? You don’t even have respect for
those in authority. I wonder where and how you will feel in 2015 if
your preferred presidential candidate does not win the election. May be
you will run out of Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, some Nigerians have slammed
the CAN leadership and asked it to leave its battle for God to fight.
One Emmanuel Chidiogo in a Twitter post asked, “Is CAN trying to fight
for God? All the rain of abuses on @elrufai is uncalled for and
immature.”
Some Nigerians, while reacting to the
ultimatum on various social networking sites, said the ultimatum
appeared more like blackmailing el-Rufai. Those who belong to this group
wondered why CAN waited for a time when “unguarded statements” were
made against its president before threatening to expose the “dirty life”
of el-Rufai.
“So, CAN is using it now as blackmail
when they should have, indeed, exposed him as genuine Christians without
giving him conditions. It shows how biased all of them are,” one
Auchman stated on punchng.com.
As if that was not enough, some
Nigerians said Oritsejafor made himself susceptible to such attack due
to the alleged ostentatious life he lives.
A Facebook user, Augustine
Oregie-Okpomeh wrote, “In the first place, what are pastors doing with
private jets worth billions of naira in a country where a large
percentage of your members can ill afford three-square meals daily?
Christ never preached expensive lifestyles and neglect of the poor while
He was alive. You (Oritsejafor) called the insults to yourself!”
Arguing in line with Oregie-Okpomeh, a reader on punchng.com,
Frank stated, “Inasmuch as I don’t support El-Rufai’s statement
concerning Christians, the question is: Is Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor a
saint? Where does he have the money to purchase a private jet?
“The so called Pastor Oritsejafor is a
disgrace to Christendom in Nigeria. Anyway, he should allow God to fight
for Himself; who is he to fight for God? Our Lord Jesus Christ oversees
the affairs of Christians and Muslims alike; so, allow God to fight for
Himself.”
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