-
ABDUL-AZEEZ SULEIMAN, Northern Elders Forum Topshot
During the last presidential election, a large part of the north voted massively for President Tinubu. If truth be told, Asiwaju may probably not have emerged winner of the election if he didn’t get the overwhelming support and votes he got from the northern part of the country. But the love and support he enjoyed then appears to be threatened at the moment. There are reasons to believe there is division within the northern political class and their people. They are divided over their support for the incumbent President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
There has been a deliberate effort by some persons who do not like President Tinubu to trigger dissenting voices from the north targetted against the president. They are throwing up all sorts of criticisms against the Tinubu administration. This group of northerners do not believe the President has the interest of the northern part of the country at heart. They insist that, going by his policies, Asiwaju has shown that he has no desire to repay and compensate the north for the massive votes it gave the President and the APC at the 2023 presidential elections. One of such groups is the Northern Elders Forum.
Not long ago, the Northern Elders Forum, through its spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, has expressed regrets that the forum regrets voting for President Bola Tinubu and that it will not make same mistake again in 2027. The elders lamented that the recent abduction of the Kuriga School children in Kaduna State is an indication that the government was failing in its responsibility to protect them and their families.
In an interview with a national newspaper not long ago, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, Publicity Director of the forum, said going forward, the region will prioritize unity and consensus in selecting a candidate for the highest office in the land.
Quizzed on the moves and deliberate effort by Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) to attract communities in northern states, Suleiman said the region would prioritize someone who is seen as more inclusive, less controversial, and more aligned with the interests of all regions of the country. “The North made a mistake in voting Bola Tinubu to the presidency in 2023, and it is unlikely that they will repeat the same error in the future.” “They have learned from their past misstep and will strive to select a candidate who can unite the country and govern in the best interests of all Nigerians.
“Moving forward, the North will be more cautious in selecting a candidate for the presidency. They will prioritize someone who is seen as more inclusive, less controversial, and more aligned with the interests of all regions of the country. “The mistake of supporting Tinubu in 2023 has taught them the importance of unity and consensus in selecting a candidate for the highest office in the land,” he was quoted as saying.
“President Tinubu has been widely criticised over some policies of his administration, which have been tagged as anti-north. The issue of restructuring which has been a subject of discuss within the Nigerian political landscape for decades running is again on the front burner, already at National Assembly. The fear of many northerners at the moment is that the President’s body language suggests he is extremely disposed to having the country restructured with each region taking its own destiny in its hands.”
Indeed, many will recall that the issue of restructuring has been a matter of national debate for several years running. And the northern part of the country has never concealed its dislike for the subject, believing that a restructured Nigeria would leave them at the short end of the stick. The north also appears unhappy with some of President Tinubu’s major appointments. They insist many of the juicy positions previously occupied by northerners under the Buhari administration have been given to Yorubas in Tinubu’s government. And they are not happy about this. They wonder why they cannot be allowed to hold some of the positions they were holding before now.
There is also the argument that insecurity in the northern part of the country has not gotten any better under the President Tinubu led government. They say they are not any safer than they were under the Buhari administration. And the worrisome economic situation in the country has not helped matters either. The people are battling with inflation and the ever rising cost of food items.
But, clearly, not all northerners or interest groups agree with the position of the Northern Elders Forum. In it’s reaction, a group from the north, the Progressive Northern Elements, tackled the Northern Elders’ position over its position on President Tinubu arguing that it was too early to fault the President. The Progressive Northern Elements through its Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Modibbo, said it was too early for Northern Elders Forum to start finding fault lines in a President it supported to win the election, adding that the President was doing well.
His words: “Rather than stirring up unnecessary tension and over heating the polity without recourse to the sustained efforts to make Nigeria, especially the north, a more economically vibrant region, we expect the North to rally round President Tinubu-led administration to succeed. We have noticed Tinubu’s sincerity and commitment to tackling the prolonged security challenges facing the North and frantic efforts towards revamping the economy of the entire country.
So, we were worried to hear our Northern elders speaking too early when former President of northern extraction, exhausted eight years in office with several unresolved challenges ranging from severe insecurity, high unemployment, collapse of agriculture activities due to banditry, and bad economy, yet the voice of the Northern Elders was not heard.
At this point, we have no option than to join Matawalle to say members of NEF lack the authority to speak for the entire region as they have become political burden to Northerners. We vow that any destructive journey that will bring the North to disrepute by NEF for personal and selfish gains will be met with stiff resistance. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu won the February 2023 presidential election convincingly and has a four-year tenure to execute his campaign promises to Nigerians and until then, he must be allowed to work without distractions,” the group stated.
Similarly, the Arewa Progressive Forum (APFO) also dissociated itself from the views of the Northern Elders Forum. In his reaction, National Secretary of the APFO, Magaji Abbas Danbatta expressed regret that the recent outbursts of the Elders forum did not represent the Northern agenda for peace and national unity of the country which was not negotiable.
Danbatta said it was an error for any group or political association to come out openly and announce their regret over a majority decision, warning that Northern elders were derailing from their counseling and advisory role to the government on national issues as it affects the region.
The group supported Minister of State Defense, Bello Mohammed Matawalle in his response to the NEF outbursts against President Tinubu, saying, the people behind the claim were more interested in personal gains than the unity and survival of Nigeria. “We are of the view that President Tinubu’s approach to the issues of security in the North so far, especially Northwest is one of the best compared to his immediate predecessor’s approach,” the group said.
A couple of weeks ago, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, President Tinubu’s main challenger in last year’s election, said the president’s policies lack human face. Recall that he, along with former speaker of House of Reps, Mallam Aminu Tambuwal, and many others, visited former President Muhammadu Buhari lately to discuss politics and and the direction the North will go come 2027. Many have seen this as a gang up against President Tinubu in anticipation of 2027 presidential elections.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate had also criticised the hike in electricity tarriff.
However, the president has consistently assured Nigerians that the worse days are over, saying his government has things under control.
After signing the Student Loan bill into law, Tinubu said the future of Nigerian children will be brighter as the path to take them out of poverty has been cleared. He also said the economy was taking shape and steps were being taken to tackle inflation.
“The only thing that can fight poverty is education. Today, I signed the bill for the Student Loan Scheme. Imagine the children of the poor; what about people going through the mud fishing in the ponds? How do you tell their children that their future will be brighter? It is only through education that we can fight poverty. A promising future awaits our children,” the president said at an Aso Rock dinner.
“The economy is looking much better. Yes, we have inflation challenges, but we will bring them down. When the exchange rate was going haywire, it looked like we were asleep, but we worked on it diligently, and it is going down; it is getting better. Borrowing was higher a year ago, but today, we are reengineering the financial landscape, and our revenue is expanding. And we are taking up our sovereignty and earning our respect back in the comity of nations.”
– WALE LAWAL
(08037209290)
Send Us News, Gist, more... to citypeopleng@gmail.com | Twitter: @CitypeopleMagz
