By Suleiman Umaru
Until his election as the President and Commander -In -Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was a former governor of Lagos state, and Presidential Candidate of the All-Progressive Congress, APC, in the February 25, 2023, general election, had said that he deserved to be the Nigerian President because he will ‘’follow the footsteps of former President Muhammadu Buhari, if elected’’.
The Northern elites who may not have taken him seriously had laughed over it believing that the northern part of Nigeria which has the population to determine who will become the country’s President cannot be ignored. They got it wrong.
True to his words he had kept to his promise of ‘’nepotism and sectionalism’’ in running his government over the last one year. This may have informed why there is a realignment of political forces and build up to re-election bid, across the country ahead of the 2027, general election.
The Katssina state born former Nigerian President may have known that Tinubu, his successor is not someone to be manipulated easily to run government that he had decided to relocate to Daura, his home town to have his peace.
He may have known from the onset that the former Lagos state governor would not do anything different from what he had done while still in office, by giving appointments at the Federal level, mostly to people of Fulani extraction without due respect to the Federal Character.
The godfather of Yoruba politics, and indeed, senior partner in the APC, newly formed mega party, in 2015, to challenge the then ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, that saw the emergence of the opposition, party, as the alternate party to take over the governance of the Nigeria, was said to be instrumental to the selection of Yemi Osinbajo, as Buhari’s Vice Presidential running mate in the 2015, Presidential election instead of him coming in for the position.
He was said to have also been instrumental for the appointment of Babatunde Fashola, Rauf Aregbesola, and Kayode Fayemi, all former governors in the south western states of Lagos, Osun and Ekiti, to be appointed ministers by the then President Buhari but that was how far he could go before he stepped aside to plan for his political future and take -over of the party machinery to prepare the ground for the last 2023, general election.
. Fashola, an ex-Lagos state governor, was appointed the minister of Works and Housing, Aregesola, Interior. The du had served the Buhari’s administration, he was in office. Fayemi, the former Ekiti state was appointed the minister of Solid minerals and served in the former President first term in office.
At present, the former Nigerian President may have succeeded in splinting the Tinubu’s political camp in the south western geopolitical region to weaken his influence as the duo of Aregesola and Fayemi who had served under his Administration, have become the major critics of the Administration.
Fasola may not have come out in the open to criticize President Tinubu, let alone visited him at the Presidential Villa for talks that bothers on governance, but he had visited former President Buhari, at Daura, where he was said to have passed the night before returning to Lagos, his base.
Another major critic of the Tinubu’s Administration from the previous the Buhari’s camp, was Ismael Ahmed, a former APC, Youth Leader, and ex- Senior Special to the former Nigerian Leader on Social Investment Programmes.
His major worry was that a lot of people from the northern region who had put in all that they can ‘’to get the former Lagos state governor into government against the wish of majority of the elites from the region to support Atiku Abubakar,who had been described as a serial Presidential Candidate of the Opposition PDP, by Nyensom Wike, a former governor of Rivers state and minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, or Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, an ex-governor of Kano state, who had contested the February 25, 2023, general election on the platform of the New Nigerian People’s Party, NNPP, founded by one Borniface Anniebonam, Chairman of Lagos based National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF.
The former Buhari Aide, noted that with the support of the north, which has 19, out of the 36 states of the Federation, the Lagos state born, APC Presidential Candidate, in the 2023, general election, was able to beat Atiku and Senator Kwankwaso, hands down, as APC, under which he had contested the Presidential election was able to win four states in the north central geopolitical region and three states in the north western region, one in the north East, leaving out the remaining 11 northern states Atiku and Senator Kwankwaso to test their political weight and popularity.
The former SSA, to Buhari, on Social Investment Programme, was emphatic that but not for the votes secured from the region, described as good enough to secure the Presidential Seat for the opposition APC, in 2015, he would have lost the election to Atiku, the PDP, Candidate, from the north eastern geopolitical region.
An aggrieved Ahmed, who may have spoken the mind of Buhari, who had thrown his weight behind Tinubu, in the 2023, Presidential election, had said that ‘’there was no basis for President Tinubu’s alienation of the northern elites who had supported him from his government’’.
Describing his appointments as lopsided, alongside the likes of Atiku, a prominent member of PDP, and his major political rival, Senators Ali Ndume and Shehu Sani including Muhammadu Sanusi, II, the Emir of Kano, who had openly declared that he has stopped supporting the Tinubu’s Administration, because those in government had refused to act as friends.
The former Social Investment Programme , Aide to President Buhari, appears to have sounded it loud and clear, that the strong man of Lagos politics, will find it tough, to break into the ranks of the northern elites to secure their support in 2027.
In spite of the fact that Tinubu, has tried to make amends by establishing a Livestock ministry and Development Commissions for the north, comprising of three regions: north central, north east and north west, the President’s actions and policies, over the last one year, have been tagged unpopular among some segments of the northern region who are not ready to change their position.
The northern elites who believes that the region has the numerical strength to effect the Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, were said to have pointed out recently that the former Lagos state governor has opportunity between now and the next general election in 2027, ‘’to manage all interests to be a successful Nigerian President’’.
Chekwas Okorie, Chairman, All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, may not have seen anything wrong with Tinubu’s government’s actions and policies since he took over from Buhari, in May 29, 2023, stating that what he has done so far clearly shows that, he was following the footsteps of, the immediate past Nigerian President, described as a ‘’learner in the area of nepotism’’.
The APGA Chairman, who could not hide his feelings had said that President Tinubu’s attitude ‘’to the diversity of the country is the poorest since independence in 1960, noting that ‘’ethnic sentiment remains the greatest problem in uniting the country as a nation’’.
According to him, ‘’Tinubu, had passed his predecessor, Buhari, in terms of nepotism and sectionalism’’. Describing Nigeria, under ex-President Buhari, as the Finalization of the country, he had said that it was not bad enough but worse now with the Yorubalization of Nigeria.
He was said to have corroborated what Ahmed, an Aide of former President Buhari had said that Tibubu’s appointments are lopsided giving instances that ‘’if any appointment is to be made him, now or the next day, his body language would tell you that even before it is made that the new political appointee will be Yoruba person.
With the 2027, general election by the corner, he had alluded to the fact that the politicians, including President Tinubu, and his foot soldiers are consolidating on their ethnic stronghold before extending hand of fellowship to other Nigerians to make up the number that will secure their party victory at the polls.
The Anambra state born politician who believes that President may not have performed in serving the interest of Nigerians, was happy that he succeeds in removing the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, petrol, which had remained an albatross and harmonized of the official and parallel, popular, Black market exchange rates, described as ‘’audacious’’, in political circles, says the country’s economy on the part of stabilization. He did not stop there.
He was said to have repeatedly said at various interviews in the recent time, print, electronic and online platforms, that President Tinubu had delved into areas of the economy that past Nigerian Presidents had shied away from touching to avoid stepping on toes that might affect their political future.
The APGA Chairman, had alluded ‘’to the gradual restructuring of the economy’’, particular, some aspects of Fiscal Federalism in the area of taxes and Value Added Tax, VAT, expected to follow next, notwithstanding the consequences.
Nigerians are watching to see how the political gang up against Tinubu, ahead of the 2027, general election will end going by the realignment of political forces across the country. Only recently, former Vice President Atiku, and of his loyalists from the PDP, had visited Obasanjo is his Presidential Library at Abeeokuta over an undisclosed reason. Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state and Presidential Candidate of the Oposition Labour Party, LP, was said to have also visited Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, a former Nigerian military President in his Hill top residence, Minna, Capital of Niger state.
