2027: Tinubu And The North

At a two-day summit held recently in Kaduna, the organisers of the event the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation invited top government officials to interact with stakeholders from the North on the administration of President Bola Tinubu. While, top government functionaries insist the region has got its fair share of government attention, leaders of the North think otherwise.  What are the genuine demands of the North? Northern Bureau Chief, MUHAMMAD SABIU writes on some of the issues in the perceived marginalisation of the North by the administration. 

During the general election in February 2023  the northern part of the country gave President Boka Tinubu a total of 5.6million votes out of the eight million votes to emerged as winner. With the massive support, stakeholders in the region said they had hoped for a better deal. Their position was articulated by both the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF). The two prominent groups spoke during  a  two-day retreat organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SABMF). The foundation was formed to project the  region and propel it to attend  socio-economic development of the three geopolitical zones in the North based on the vision of one of its founding father, the late Premier of the defunct Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto).

The interactive session attracted top government functionaries, business moguls, academia, religious and traditional rulers, as well as captains of industries. The Fe federal Government  was led by the Secretary to the Government of Federation , (SGF), senator George Akume. Other top functionaries in the teanm comprised ministers, among whom, were that of Defence, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Badaru; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, Minister of Culture, Rabi Musawa, and the Minister of Budget, Alhaji Atiku Badagu. the roll of governors included the host, Senator Uba Sani; as well as Governor of Gombe state and Chairman of the Northern State Governors Forum, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya.

Other important dignitaries were the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa,  Chief of Air staff, and a former military governor of Lagos State, Buba Marwa.

The roll call was aptly captured by  the minister of information in his speech, as he declared that more than 60 political appointees from the region were at the venue. To confirm his assertion, the appointees were asked to stand up for recognition which they all did. On the other hand, the leadership of the ACF, by its Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman, Bashir Dalhatu, came with the members who included elder statesmen and retired police and military officers.  The convener of the NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi, also came with some of the key members. The leadership of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation was led by a former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, with a number of other former governors, ministers and ex-and serving senators from the region in attendance.  

The retreat gave the two sides: the government delegation and the stakeholders in the region,  the opportunity to speak frankly to themselves amid the growing disenchantment among the people of the region. Interestingly,  thegovernment delegation  put in a spirited defence  and concluded that the Tinubu administration has done a lot for the  region and the president deserves a second term in office in 2027.

In separate contributions at interactions, the top government officials, among them, the SGF, NSA, ministers and governors eulogised President Tinubu, saying he has lived up to expectations since he assumed office two years ago.   Speaking on security matters, one of the disturbing issues facing the region, the NSA, Mallam Ribadu argued  that security in the region has improved significantly. He submitted that within the period under review, kidnapping, banditry and bombing have reduced drastically.  Citing examples with Kaduna- Abuja road, and Kaduna-Birnin Gwari roads which was largely avoided by motorists and other road users, he remarked that all the two highways are now free and save for the citizens. Ribadu also said that in the last two years of Tinubu’s government, there have been incidents of bomb blasts in markets, schools, other public places, and so on. 

The Minister of Defence, Alhaji Badaru also shed light on the activities of the Tinubu government, saying it is engaging in massive production of locally made equipment in other meet the requirements needed to tackle the insecurity bedevilling the country.  He said the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) in Kaduna has reached 40 per cent need for the production of  Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC). The  SGF, Senator Akume, in his own remarks, said the government has done much for the region. He also addressed the raging debate over power rotational between the North and the South. Again, he urged the North to allow the South to complete another four years in office after which power can return to the North. “By this conception,  the North, the region that is so dear to me, will be eligible for the presidency in 2031, not 2027. Nigeria will not cease to exist. But, we need patience to arrive at our turn. This system was devised to foster national unity and mitigate ethnic and religious tensions by ensuring balanced political power sharing. Let us walk this path together, with faith in our country and renewed hope in our shared future. So, we are all resolved in deepening our democracy,” the former governor of Benue State stated.

Earlier, the  governor of Gombe, and chairman of the Northern State Governors Forum lauded the Federal Government under President Tinubu for bringing development in the region. He said: “lam  bold to say that the evidence of progress is visible across our region. Thanks to Mr. President’s renewed hope agenda, many projects started by the previous administration are now racing towards completion. These include the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, the Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail line, the rehabilitation of the Kaduna Refinery, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline project, and continuation of drilling activities in Kolmani Oilfields. These projects, promise to bring industrial growth and energy security to Northern Nigeria. New infrastructure projects are also coming up, including various inter-state road networks like and the ambitious Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway that will connect Northern producers to southern markets, agriculture value chain initiative targeting northern states, expansion and upgrade of healthcare facilities all point to a deliberate policy towards uplifting the wellbeing of our people.On the security front, we have witnessed significant progress. Through coordinated military operations and improved intelligence gathering, over 300 bandit kingpins and terrorist commanders have been eliminated, disrupting criminal networks that terrorized our communities.

However,  in reacting to the government position, the ACF chairman of BoT, Alhaji Dalhatu insisted that the region has not been getting  a deserved attention from the federal administration. He noted: “Northerners went out en masse on the 25th of February, 2023, and cast their ballots for Bola Tinubu. In the event, 5.6 million out of the total 8.8 million votes he got (or 64%) came from the North. Two years into the four-year tenure of President Tinubu, the feeling among the people of the North is, to put it mildly, completely mixed. To our surprise, those who did not support him; who did not vote for him and hardly wished him well, have emerged from nowhere and are trying to push a wedge between him and the North. Whether or not they are succeeding, we do not know. But, we cannot pretend not to observe that. Tinubu’s budget priorities, his infrastructural projects, his appointments and other executive actions, have, over the last two years, largely sidelined Northern Nigeria saying, “As far as we can see, nothing or little is being done to address the major issues of concern to the North, details of which were presented to him in writing by various groups  over the years.

The northern leader affirmed that, “The biggest problem  facing the region is insecurity, saying, “our biggest concern was and remains insecurity in Northern Nigeria.  We stressed the fact that over the last decade, widespread violence, characterised by massacres, bombings, cattle rustling, kidnapping and other manifestations of conflict and insecurity has swept across Northern Nigeria, crippling almost all productive economic activities, to say nothing of social progress.

At the end of the summit, the region called on the Federal Government to address regional imbalance.  In a communiqué signed by the Director General, SABMF, Dr Abubakar Gambo Umar, on behalf of participants, the stakeholders noted that the North contributes significantly to national stability, development, and electoral outcomes. They also noted that the problems of Almajiri and out-of-school children remain a key concern of the region, just as they asserted that agricultural value chains and rural industrialisation are crucial for employment and food security in the region. Accordingly, they stated:  “Ongoing economic and security reforms require inclusive and non-kinetic approaches.”

The participants also said federal-state collaboration is essential for regional prosperity. as well  as  institutionalised periodic government-citizen dialogue platforms at the national and state levels. Thus, they revealed the setting up of a committee that will interface with the stakeholders with the view to tackling the demands presented at the summit. 

Somehow, the position of the stakeholders that the North was being shortchanged by the Federal Government in the scheme of things stirred controversy with some individuals and groups in other parts of the country dismissing the claims. They corroborated their claim with some facts and figures put in the public domain by Ministries, Departments and agencies (MDAS0, as well as professional bodies and institutions. The leadership of the Middle belt Forum (MBF) also differed with the ACF and NEF on the allegation of marginalization of the North by the authorities.     

Nonetheless, the retreat has come and gone, with the government and stakeholders in the North being on the same page on the need for the way forward. The big puzzle agitating the minds of many vested interests is; will the Federal Government address and meet the demands of the North as the buildup to the next general elections progresses? 

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