The Accidental Public Servant Read online

  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

  Economist Intelligence Unit

  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