Bayo Onanuga, a senior adviser to President Bola Tinubu, has hit back at former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai by sharing a past criticism from former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Onanuga, on Wednesday, posted parts of Obasanjo’s book My Watch (Volume 2), published in 2015, where the former president described El-Rufai as someone with “small man syndrome” and “psychological and upbringing problems.”

Onanuga’s post came days after El-Rufai appeared on Arise TV, where he criticised President Tinubu’s government.
El-Rufai, who supported Tinubu in the 2023 election, said, “God saved me from the disaster called Tinubu’s government,” and claimed the president would be “lucky to come third” as there was “no pathway to win” in the 2027 election.

In a shady reaction, Onanuga shared an excerpt from Obasanjo’s My Watch, Vol. 2, pages 110–112, where the former president accused El-Rufai of being disloyal, dishonest, and prone to “reputation savaging,” describing him as a “pathological purveyor of untruths and half-truths” who “lied brazenly” to friends, colleagues, and even to Obasanjo himself.

Obasanjo also said he refused to support El-Rufai as a possible successor during his time in office and that others came back to confirm that his judgement of El-Rufai had been accurate.

He added that El-Rufai tries to make himself seem more important than he is and suggested that his behavior could be linked to the loss of his father at a young age and a possible lack of proper upbringing.

Obasanjo is quoted as writing, “Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological. Why does he do it? Very early in my interaction with him, I appreciated his talent. At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir El-Rufai.

He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends. I have heard of how he ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who, in an African setting, was like a foster father to him. I shuddered when I heard the story of what he did to his half-brother in the Air Force, who is senior to him in age.”

“A leader must know the character and ability of his subordinates. Character-wise, Nasir does not have much going for him. But he is a talented young man who can always deliver under close supervision.

So, when Osita Chijoka approached, among others, propping Nasir as my possible successor, believing that whoever I supported would make it, which was a false belief, I did not hesitate to point to Nasir’s naivety and immaturity, talk less of his inability to give honour to whom honour is due.”

“My vivid recollection of him is a penchant for lying, for unfair embellishment of stories, and his inability to sustain loyalty for long. Two years after I had left office, Osita came to me to confirm how right I was in my assessment and judgement of Nasir. I knew what I could make him achieve, and he achieved it for my administration and the country.

I believe that he can still be used in public service, but under guidance and sufficient oversight, making allowance for the psychology of his petite size and his elephantine brain. He was described as a malicious liar. He was more than that; he is a pathological purveyor of untruths and half-truths with little or no regard for integrity. In all of this, he unwittingly does more harm than good to himself.

He’s always playing himself up to give himself more ‘height’ than he has. Whichever way, he has my sympathy. It was characteristic of him. Unfortunately, his character could also be seen as a reflection of his upbringing, which may spread the blame beyond him.

In a typical African society, it would be asked, ‘Did he not receive home training, or did he reject home training?’ Is there nobody in the family to call him to order? One may also wonder how much his losing his father at the tender age of eight years had rendered him devoid of fatherly care, guidance, paternal direction, and home training.”