The Accidental Public Servant
Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai
© Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai 2013
Dedicated to:
To the loving memory of Yasmin El-Rufai
1986-2011
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms
3G
Good Governance Group
AAV
Abuja Automotive Village
ABU
Ahmadu Bello University
AC
Action Congress
ACN
Action Congress of Nigeria
AD
Alliance for Democracy
ADC
Aide de Camp
ADP
Agricultural Development Project
AEA
Abuja Enterprise Agency
AGIS
Abuja Geographic Information Systems
AICL
Abuja Investment Company Ltd.
AIPDC
Abuja Investment and Property Development Company Ltd.
AIT
African Independent Television
AMAC
Abuja Municipal Area Council
AMMA
Abuja Metropolitan Management Agency
AMP
Advanced Management Programme
ANPP
All Nigeria Peoples' Party
AP
African Petroleum Plc
APGA
All Progressives Grand Alliance
APP
All Peoples' Party
ATV
Abuja Technology Village
AUST
African University of Science and Technology
BASA
Bilateral Air Services Agreement
BOBA
Barewa College Old Boys' Association
BP
British Petroleum
BPE
Bureau of Public Enterprises
BPSR
Bureau of Public Service Reforms
C of O
Certificate of Occupancy
CAC
Corporate Affairs Commission
CAN
Christian Association of Nigeria
CBN
Central Bank of Nigeria
CCECC
China Civil Engineering Construction Company Ltd
CCT
Code of Conduct Tribunal
CDMA
Code Division Multiple Access
CPC
Congress for Progressive Change
CPS
Career Public Servants
CRC
Current Replacement Cost
CSO
Chief Security Officer
DFID
Department for Overseas Development (now UK Aid)
DG
Director-General
DPP
Democratic Peoples Party
ECA
Excess Crude Account
EFCC
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
EIU
EMIS
Education Management Information System
EOI
Expression of Interest
EPCC
Economic Policy Coordinating Committee
EPSR
Electric Power Sector Reform
ES
Executive Secretary
ESP
Education Sector Plan
FACA
FCT Action Committee on AIDS
FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigations
FCC
Federal Capital City (official name of Abuja City)
FCDA
Federal Capital Development Authority
FCSC
Federal Civil Service Commission
FCT
Federal Capital Territory
FCT EXCO FCT Executive Committee
FCTA
Federal Capital Territory Administration
FEC
Federal Executive Council
FEEDS
FCT Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy
FGN
Federal Government of Nigeria
FIRS
Federal Inland Revenue Service
FIU
Financial Intelligence Unit of the EFCC
FMBN
Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria
FT
Financial Times of London
G-53
Group of 53 Concerned Citizens of Nigeria (precursor to SNG)
GMB
General Muhammadu Buhari
GSM
Global System for Mobile Communications
HBS
Harvard Business School
HIPC
Highly Indebted Poor Countries
HKS
Harvard Kennedy School of Government
HSE
Health, Safety and Environment
IBB
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida
ICPC
Independent Corrupt Practices Commission
IFC
International Finance Corporation
IMF
International Monetary Fund
INEC
Independent National Electoral Commission
IOCs
International Oil Companies
IPA
International Planning Associates
IPPIS
Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System
IQS
Institute of Quantity Surveyors
JBN
Julius Berger Nigeria Plc
LP
Labour Party
LSE
London School of Economics
MDAs
Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government
MFA
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MFCT
Ministry of Federal Capital Territory
NAFDAC
National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control
NASS
National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
NCP
National Council on Privatisation
NCP
National Conference
NECO
National Examinations Council
NEEDS
National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy
NIA
National Intelligence Agency
NIQS
Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
NITEL
Nigeria Telecommunications Limited
NNPC
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
NOLCHEM National Oil and Chemical Marketing Plc
NPRC
National Political Reform Conference
NSA
National Security Adviser
NYSC
National Youth Service Corps
OHCSF
Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation
OLPC
One Laptop Per Child
OMV
Open Market Value
OPM
Owner-President Management Programme
PDP
Peoples Democratic Party
PIMCO
Programme Implementation and Monitoring Committee
POH
Political Office Holders
PP
Private Practice
PPA
Power Purchase Agreement
PPP
Public Private Partnership
PSRT
Public Service Reform Team
Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (sometimes abbreviate
d as
PSTF
PTF)
PTDF
Petroleum Technology Development Fund
QS
Quantity Surveying (or Surveyor)
R of O
Right of Occupancy
RICS
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
SAN
Senior Advocate of Nigeria
SAP
Structural Adjustment Programme
SDMP
Social Democratic Mega Party
SGF
Secretary to the Government of the Federation
SLGP
State and Local Governments Programme of UK DFID
Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency of
SMEDAN
Nigeria
SNG
Save Nigeria Group
SSCE
Senior Secondary Certificate Examination
SSS
State Security Service
STDA
Satellite Towns Development Agency
TCPC
Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation
UAE
United Arab Emirates
UK
United Kingdom
UN
United Nations
US
United States
USA
United States of America
USAID
United States Agency for International Development
VAT
Value Added Tax
VP
Vice President
WASC
West African School Certificate
F o r e w o r d
I first heard about Mallam Nasir El-Rufai from a distance through the press early in 2000. It was not
until our mutual friend, Sarah Omakwu, Senior Pastor, Family Worship Centre, Abuja, gave me a first
hand account of the good job he was doing as the then Minister for the Federal Capital Territory in
2005, that I began to pay any attention to him as a public servant.
It was even much later, in early 2010 that our paths crossed for the first time in Dubai. So, it came as
a surprise, albeit a pleasant one, when he asked me to write this foreword to his maiden book – The
Accidental Public Servant. It is a pleasant surprise because it is a manifestation of the truism of the
adage that in any meaningful human relationship, it is not just how long but also how well that matters.
For, since our first meeting almost three years ago, there has been no one week that we did not speak;
just as there has been no one month that we did not meet at least once. The relationship has become so
close such that he stays with my family when in Lagos as I spend time with his when in Abuja. Thus, I
have gotten to know the real man – Nasir El-Rufai as a very dear friend and brother.
It is character that maketh the man! In getting to know Nasir, I have gotten to know an exceedingly
courageous, inherently honest, highly intelligent, extremely loyal, humble and, above all, a God
fearing man. He is a rare gem in our nation and in our time. These personality traits provide the
underpinning for the friendship we have enjoyed as I do not make friends easily. They also constitute
the rationale for his decisions and actions throughout his nine-year stint in public service. After all, it
is virtually impossible to separate the man from his deeds, just as the Scriptures I live my life by
says: “a man shall be judged by his deeds” (Romans 2:6).
Thus, this book is a must read for anyone that wants to know Nasir well, up close and personal,
without the benefit of the close day to day relationship I have enjoyed with him. Even to those who
know him as a friend or an acquaintance, the book is also highly recommended; if only to fully
understand the rationale behind the seemingly controversial decisions he took whilst in office. Above
all, students, academics, historians, administrators, managers, politicians, public servants and the
general public at large would benefit immensely from learning a thing or two about how to protect the
greater public good rather than the narrow personal interest.
The book is as lucid as it is most revealing. The rare but necessary prerequisites for a successful
career in public service by way of decency, integrity and hard work are implicit throughout the book;
right from the Prologue on the “Third Term” debacle – a scintillating insider revelation that put paid
to the notion of plausible deniability, through ‘Humble Origins’ in Chapter One, to the explicit
reference in Covert Battles in Chapter Fourteen.
In this book, Nasir enumerates four cardinal points which governed his orientation and disposition as
a public servant. First is a detribalized, religiously neutral, humanistic view of the Nigerian person -
whether good or bad; next, is an acknowledgment of the intrinsic strategic rationality that is inherent
to human thinking and conduct which gauges interests and intentions in the light of enlightened self-
interest in order to negotiate fair and favourable outcomes. The third idea is the belief in the
conditioned reflexive response to sanctions and incentives as a basic tool for shaping human conduct
irrespective of race, gender or age; and finally the poignant awareness of the stark disparity in
Nigeria, between publicly-owned/managed enterprises/institutions and privately owned/run
organizations particularly in terms of system efficiency and quality of human resources. In his own
words:
“This is essentially what was wired into my brain well before I was appointed to head the BPE.
These four guiding principles played roles in defining our hiring practices, in the pursuit of
restructuring the BPE, and in the design and aggressive implementation of the privatization and
commercialization programme from 1999 to 2003. I do not think it is any coincidence that by the end
of my nearly four years there, people across the political spectrum considered the Bureau of Public
Enterprises to be one of the most respectable public institutions in the country, a big change from
what it had become towards the end of 1999 – a dysfunctional and low-morale institution with more
deputy directors than real staff.”
The foregoing is in essence the story of The Accidental Public Servant and of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
I hope you enjoy reading it and find it informative and insightful as I have. Our nation is in dire need
of more capable, competent and decent public servants like Nasir; to make the country better and
greater during our lifetime. This is my calling and what I have dedicated the remainder of my life to
achieve. Please join us in making the goal a reality.
Tunde Bakare
Lagos, Nigeria. 2012
A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s
As an avid reader and a lover of books, I have always had a healthy dose of respect for authors. This
respect has increased dramatically as I navigated through more than three years of writing this book,
starting with an outline in Aspen, Colorado in July 2009. I did not realize how difficult it is to write
even a story in which one is intimately involved. I can only imagine how much tougher it is to write
accounts in which one is not a principal actor. I therefore owe debts of gratitude to many people who
played various roles in getting this book written, and supporting me while I tried putting it together.
The sheer number of helpers means it is impractical to name them all, but I owe a special debt of
gratitude to the following people:
My immediate family, particularly my late father, Mallam Ahmad Rufai Muhammad and my mother
Fatima Umma El-Rufai laid all the foundations. My father’s last wish was an admonition to me to take
reading, learning and education as a serious, lifetime duty. My mother reminded me of this constantly
and brought me up strictly to know the difference between right and wrong, and avoid wrongdoing
that would tarnish our family name. My uncle, the late Alhaji Hamza Gidado, my cousin, Mallam
Yahaya Hamza, and his kind-hearted wife, Guggo Zuwaira, continued this traditional upbringing that
defined my worldview. I remain eternally grateful to them.
My brothers AVM Ali Rufai and Bashir El-Rufai, and my spouses Hadiza, Asia and Ummi, are not
only important parts of my story in public service and after, but their collective sacrifices and
unstinting devotion and love provided the crucial ingredients that I needed to write the book. My
lovely children were equally self-sacrificial and unconditionally devoted. I am grateful to them all.
The period of writing this book was partly spent in exile. My brother and mentor, Bashir El-Rufai has
always been singularly there for me. He encouraged this project actively, made exile less unbearable
by accommodating me for a period in his home in Sharjah, near Dubai, and always supported me
financially through my most difficult times. I remain grateful to him and his wonderful family.
My first wife Hadiza had to not only bear the burden of direct attacks by the Yar’Adua government,
but also keep our family together by providing the extra support that my elder children needed to pass
through those challenging times. I was lucky to have the Isma sisters as in-laws: Fatima Abdullahi,
Furera Jumare, Maryam Muazu and Rabi Isma, that helped Hadiza to remain stable and grounded
during the persecution period. Maryam also looked after one of our sons who lived with her for two
years while attending elementary school in Maryland. I remain grateful for their continuous support.
With my second wife Asia and our younger children mostly in Nigeria during my exile, it wasn't any
easier for them either. The love and support of Asia's family enabled me to have the peace of mind to
write this story. I am grateful to Hajiya Hafsatu Garba Saeed (Maman Gusau), Kadaria Ahmed, Faika
Ahmed and Zainab Marshall for the support given to Asia and my children.
My third wife Ummi Haliru not only encouraged me with her genuine care and support; but with her
eagle eyes, reviewed the earlier and concluding drafts of this book, modifying language and raising