Afaka students: Nigerians hit el-Rufai hard over bombardment comment, say he’s insensitive

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai has come under fire for his revelation that he was ready to sacrifice some students of the College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka in Igabi Local Government Area of the state in order to neutralise bandits who abducted them.

For many Nigerians, el-rufai’s revelation was not just insensitive, lacking in good tactics but also a practical demonstration of how lowly Nigerian leaders think of citizens if he could merely see the killing of some students during an attack on the bandits as collateral damage.

The Kaduna State Governor courted trouble when he revealed during a webinar on Thursday that the military was ready to move against the bandits holding the students, who were eventually released after 56 days in captivity.

He said: “Two days after the abduction of the Afaka young people, I was assured by the air force and the army that they knew where the kidnappers were with the students and they had encircled them.

“We were going to attack them. We would lose a few students but we would kill all the bandits and we would recover some of the students. That was our plan. That was the plan of the air force and the army. But they slipped through the cordon of the army. That is why they were not attacked.

“We know it is risky; we know in the process, we may lose some of the abductees but it is a price we have to pay. This is war, there will always be collateral damage in war and we will rather do that than pay money because paying money has not solved the problem anywhere in the world.”

For many Nigerians, including parents of the students, the plan by the governor and the military was not only cruel and evil, but against all known modern tactics of combating a crime such as abduction, where the safety of hostages are prioritised and seen as the overriding objective of such operations.

They are livid also that even if such a plan was ever contemplated, el-Rufai was not expected to divulge it, calling into question his ability to hold sensitive operational information that concerns the military or any other intelligence and security agencies.

Reacting to the revelation by Governor el-Rufai, one of the parents of the abducted students, who chose to remain anonymous, thanked God for making the planned bombardment fail. According to him, things are just beginning to make sense to him and other parents, in view of the recalcitrant attitude of the governor while the students remained in captivity.

“First, I must thank God for allowing our children to be re-united with us safely. It was the most harrowing 56 days of my life so far and I don’t pray to ever witness such again in my life. We went through hell waiting for them to return. But then, they are back with us and while we were still jubilating and literally on top of the moon, Governor el-Rufai told the world that he would have actually killed our children just to get to the bandits. That, for me, was an insensitive thing to say, not to talk of planning to do.

“It was after he made that statement that it dawned on us the reason for the way he behaved throughout the period they were in captivity. The state government treated us in less signifying ways and could not be bothered by our plight, despite saying the contrary to the world. It is now we fully understand the real danger our children faced, not just from the bandits but from el-Rufai and the military. For me, their coming back home is a miracle; but I will not forget the role played by the state government in refusing every entreaty in rescuing our children”, the parent said.

An Ibadan based activist, Segun Oriowo, in a chat with DAILY POST questioned the rational behind a planned murder of innocent students, who the military and the state government should have made their priority and ensure they are reunited with their parents unhurt. According to him, the revelation by el-Rufai is a reflection of the quality of leadership in the country, and the value leaders place on the lives of citizens.

“When we say the major problem of this country is leadership, many people, especially those in government think we just love to condemn them and raise unnecessary issues but with the revelation from Governor el-Rufai, it has become obvious that we don’t have leaders in this country. What we have are rulers, people who see citizens as their conquered subjects and the country as their conquered territory. If not, how can a governor be bold and comfortable enough to tell parents that he had planned to kill their children just to get at a band of criminals, who does not value his own life not to talk of the lives of his captives? For me, what el-Rufai said and how he said it, was the lowest any leader can go. Devoid of empathy, lacking in tact and highly condescending.

“The governor has also shown that he is not capable of being in possession of sensitive military and intelligence information, as he tends to talk beyond what’s expected of his office and divulge far too much in the process. Such a person definitely cannot be privy to sensitive information. It will be a disaster to allow such”, Oriowo said.

Also reacting in a chat with DAILY POST, a community leader in the Oluwakemi, a border town between Lagos and Ogun State, Chief Asiwaju Akerele, believes Governor el-Rufai’s comment was grossly insensitive and capable of causing undue apprehension for other parents whose children are still captivity, especially the students of Greenfield University.

“el-Rufai is actually one of the governors I respect but I am at a loss that he actually said this. It is highly insensitive and uncalled for. What ideas does he want the parents of the abducted students of Greenfield University to begin to have? That their children may become collateral damages in his obsession to wipe out the bandits? I can only imagine what is going through the minds of these parents now.

“I believe Governor el-Rufai should rather look for ways of calming the parents of these students, assuring them of government’s commitment to rescuing the students, instead of putting them in apprehension that the students may actually be killed by forces and not by the bandits”, Akerele said.

For Nigerians on social media, it was another opportunity to vent their anger. While many on Twitter blamed the governor for divulging such sensitive operational information, others outrightly took him to the cleaners.

Here are the reactions:

@Miashiru, believes el-Rufai was just being honest, albeit brutally. He said: “Governor El- Rufai was brutally honest. But some things are not for public consumption. We just have to find a more effective way of dealing with this enigma, but paying ransom is certainly not the way to go”, while @Vandecech went for the governor’s jugular as he wrote: “Nah your pikin them go kill as collateral damage. Efforts ought to be made to avoid hostage deaths, you don’t have to gloat about the likelihood of deaths. Highly insensitive to their family members. Heartless man. Better just forget any presidential ambitions.”

For @bentigor, el-Rufai was tactically wrong, submitting that such information shouldn’t have left the room where it was discussed. He wrote: “It is known that some people will be caught in crossfire during such attacks but it is ill-advised to admit such to the media. I understand that he is trying to be brutally honest but certain things like that aren’t supposed to leave the room they had such a discussion.” @nnaemy was however more direct in his own reaction. “This is a completely foolish thing to say. The plan was to attack and kill some students but the bandits escaped the CORDON of the army. Foolish statement from a supposedly intelligent man. No wonder his sons talk from their assess”, he said.

@omoba_ade19 however tried to compare how hostage situations are dealt in the western world, concluding that secrecy of such a plan is key. He wrote: “This statement is not good, a significant difference between the western world and our world. US/UK/FRC/RUS govt will never say this openly even if they know it will come to the killing of a few ones. Our government has no sympathy for our lives, no form of regret for lost lives. #shame”

@kaffytita questioned the governor, asking if his children were part of the abducted students, would he be comfortable to say that. “Very easy to say. ‘Lose some students’. Those are real people, if it were your children, would you say ‘lose some children’? People’s children fa, abeggi”, while @oluwadamilola_k wondered if Governor el-Rufai knows the implication of his statement. He said: “This man doesn’t know the implication of what he’s saying. I hope the heartless kidnappers won’t launch another attack soon in Kaduna to dare him. Buhari is pleading with them and El-Rufai is here making empty threats.”

For @ikimij, he believes the government should rather consider the lives of hostages before thinking of bandits to be killed. He wrote: “A sane government will consider the life they’re trying to save before thinking of getting rid of the bandits. The purpose of the military should be to save life rather looking for children to sacrifice”, while @basho07 have this to say: “Mr Gov must have been quoted out of context or something went wrong somewhere.(Slip of tongue) This statement is definitely a misguided one and will in years to come be your nemesis.”