Life is full of parallels. But some parallels are stranger than fiction. Who, for instance, would think there are similarities between Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, and Elon Musk, the world’s richest man? On the surface, there’s clear blue water between them: one is a modestly successful technocrat, administrator and politician in Nigeria; the other is a global figure, known universally for owning world-class brands like Tesla, Space X and the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Yet, there’s an interesting comparison between el-Rufai and Musk. Both helped make someone president but soon fell out spectacularly with that person and began to plot his downfall. El-Rufai and Musk are Svengalis turned dagger-wielding foes.