El-Rufai Has ‘Small Man Syndrome’ — Onanuga Fires Back After Criticism of Tinubu

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, has launched a scathing response to former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai over recent remarks criticizing the Tinubu administration.

El-Rufai, speaking during an interview on Arise Television, said President Tinubu would need a miracle to win re-election in 2027. He cited internal polling by his group which, according to him, showed a 91 percent disapproval rating for Tinubu in the South-East and northern regions, and 78 percent in Lagos.

In a post shared on X on Wednesday, Onanuga referenced former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s memoir *My Watch*, where Obasanjo accused El-Rufai of suffering from “small man syndrome.” Onanuga echoed this characterization and accused El-Rufai of consistently trying to inflate his importance.

“Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological,” Onanuga wrote, quoting Obasanjo. “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.”

Onanuga shared more excerpts from Obasanjo’s 2014 memoir, painting El-Rufai as disloyal and manipulative. Obasanjo claimed El-Rufai once falsely maligned close associates, including an uncle regarded as a father figure and a half-brother in the Air Force.

El-Rufai served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under Obasanjo from 2003 to 2007. He recently resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), where he is now involved in efforts to form a political coalition aimed at challenging President Tinubu in the 2027 elections.