Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has shed light on the deep political and personal cost he paid for writing his controversial memoir, ‘The Accidental Public Servant’, revealing that close associates warned him he had effectively ended his political career by speaking too openly about life in government.
According to a Channels Television report on July 10, 2025, El-Rufai spoke during the public presentation of Mohammed Bello Adoke’s new book. His comments, delivered with characteristic frankness, were a stinging indictment of Nigeria’s political culture, one in which silence and self-censorship are often seen as necessary for survival, and where telling the truth is perceived as betrayal.
El-Rufai reflected on the content of his 2013 memoir, which detailed his turbulent years in public service, including betrayals by allies and abandonment by friends. “That book showed how friends abandon you, betray you, how those that you’ve been good to turn against you,” he said.
He explained that many warned him that going public with such revelations would alienate him permanently from Nigeria’s power circles. Yet, despite the fallout, El-Rufai insists he has no regrets:
His remarks were made in support of Adoke, who has faced political persecution and legal battles since leaving office. El-Rufai praised Adoke’s courage in telling his side of the story and defended the right of public servants to document their truth. “You can write a book like that and hold your head high because you know you did nothing wrong while holding public office,” he said.
In his words “Everyone told me I made a mistake, that I would never smell public office again. In Nigeria, when you are in government, you eat, you keep quiet, and you come back and you remain silent. I don’t think I had anything to hide in my public service. I still don’t.
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