A once-close friendship between social commentator Japhet Omojuwa and Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has deteriorated into a heated online feud following Nasir El-Rufai’s defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The fallout escalated after Omojuwa, a former supporter of El-Rufai, shifted his allegiance to Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, who remains in the APC. Bashir El-Rufai, displeased with the switch, took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to mock Omojuwa, insinuating that his past loyalty had been financially motivated.
Bashir, in a scathing post, accused Omojuwa of hypocrisy, claiming that his family had once gifted him an iPad when he was struggling.
“I knew we should never have dashed this individual an iPad when he used to wait at our gatehouse desperately seeking an audience. Now we have created a hypocritical and duplicitous monster,” Bashir wrote.
The comment implied that Omojuwa’s shift in political support was influenced by personal gain rather than principle.
Rather than responding with outrage, Omojuwa turned the remark into a joke, announcing he would be giving away eight iPads to his followers as a form of mockery.
“I will be donating 8 iPads to 8 of my followers. Can you guess why 8 iPads? Lol. Next week, by God’s grace, I will pick 8 of my followers to hand 1 iPad each. Maybe even more. But let’s start with 8. It’s a significant number,” he posted.
In a further jab, Omojuwa dismissed Bashir’s remarks as petty, stating that true generosity comes without expectations.
“PS: I will never taunt you for this, now or in 2039. Our family isn’t that way. Actually, most families aren’t that way, so this doesn’t make my family special lol. Na people wey get poverty and narcissistic mentality dey do that kain thing. It’s a gift. You don’t owe me for a gift you never asked for.”
What initially seemed like a political disagreement quickly escalated into a personal war of words, with supporters from both sides joining the fray. The public nature of the dispute has highlighted deeper political tensions within Kaduna State’s APC faction, particularly following El-Rufai’s defection to the SDP.
While some social media users criticized Omojuwa for switching allegiance, others mocked Bashir for bringing up an old favor as leverage in a political debate. The feud has further amplified discussions on loyalty, integrity, and the influence of political patronage in Nigerian politics.
As both men continue trading barbs, the episode remains a stark reminder of how personal friendships can be strained—and even destroyed—by shifting political alliances in Nigeria’s highly polarized landscape.
