Its so Annoying seeing Nigerians Suffering - Gov. El Rufai

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State on Sunday
said he was extremely sad that Nigerians were
passing through the worst economic downturn ever
witnessed in the history of the nation.
El-Rufai, who spoke in Lagos during the Sunday
service of The Latter Rain Assembly, noted that there
was no denying the fact that Nigerians were
contending with multi-facetted challenges, which
were the outcome of the looting of the nation's
resources in the past years.
He, however, believed that the citizens needed to
cooperate among themselves and with the President
Muhammadu Buhari-led government to see the
nation through its trying times.
The governor added, "We have always known that
there is massive corruption in Nigeria but the
revelations of the past one year have shocked even
the most pessimistic of critics. Nearly 70 per cent of
Nigeria's oil revenues disappeared without a trace.
"Of course, there must be consequences for that.
When we sit down with President Buhari these days,
I pity him. I pity him because he has always become
President anytime Nigeria is in trouble.
"First, it was after the NPN (National Party of Nigeria)
government had almost grounded the economy (in
1984) and now, after a massive looting of the
nation's treasury; and he has to lead the team to fix
it.
"But we are working round the clock to fix these
problems. With your prayers and the cooperation of
Nigerians, we shall surmount these problems."
El-Rufai argued that Buhari's strength was also his
weakness, explaining that trusting people was a
virtue, saying it could become a weakness when one
could not come to the reality that only a few people
could be trusted.
"President Buhari loves humanity passionately; his
strength is that he believes everyone could be
trusted, which is also a weakness. When he gives
people any assignment, he expects people to carry
out the assignment with all honesty. Unfortunately,
this is not so all the time as we have seen over time
and that's why I said it is a weakness.
"The President is not a man who has interest in
making money for himself or for his friends. Mistakes
could be made; only God is perfect," he added.
El-Rufai attributed his status today as a governor to
the advice of the Serving Overseer of The Latter Rain
Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, who, he said, invited
him to "Buhari's party," the CPC (Congress for
Progressives Change) in 2011.
He stated, "I already made up my mind never to go
into public office after I left office the last time.
Pastor Bakare told me that I should not be bitter; that
I should forgive anyone who might have offended me
and should move on with my life.
"He then invited me to the join Buhari's party, the
CPC, in 2011 and we have continued since then.
Today, I'm close to President Buhari because of what
Pastor Bakare has done. Today, I'm a governor
because of what Pastor Bakare has done. I'm no
longer sad; I've forgiven everyone; and I'm no longer
bitter.
"More importantly, we need the prayers of Nigerians
to succeed."
El-Rufai, a former Minister of Federal Capital
Territory, said Nigerians belonged to "one nation
under one God," adding that there should not be any
reason to discriminate based on religion.