HIS friends – and foes – credit him with superlative skills in running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.
Some call it duplicity; others say it is pure tact. Whichever way he is viewed, Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai surely knows how to plunge into a controversy and hurriedly waddle his way out of it.
That was what came into the minds of many yesterday as His Excellency exchanged pleasantries with All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They shook hands and talked for some minutes. Tinubu, the Jagaban Borgu, was seated; El-Rufai, who was decked out in a blue agbada and a cap to match, was on his feet.
Then, the questions: “What are they discussing? Was he apologising for what he reportedly said of Tinubu? What was Tinubu telling him; I take no offence, please?
El-Rufai, at a lecture in Lagos, gave his audience tips on how to deal with godfathers, after former APC Legal Adviser Muiz Banire asked him a question.
The verbal assault was believed to have been directed at Tinubu. El-Rufai came under intense attack. He later denied that his comment was directed at Tinubu.
With the governor greeting Tinubu at yesterday’s Democracy Day celebration at the Eagle Square, Abuja, many were asking: “Has El-Rufai repented?
