2027: Tinubu’s Policies Unsettle Northern APC

The marriage between the ruling All Progressives Con- gress (APC) and the North seems to be getting over as the Northerners are disagreeing with the styles and policies of governance of the party. A former National Vice Chairman of the APC, North West and a leading political voice from the North, Salihu Lukman, recently warned that the party might lose the general election in 2027, should the situation continued the way it is. Lukman, who was assessing the performance of the party said: “I think we must be honest, and this is the point I make to our leaders; without any inhibition, at the moment, our democracy is not responsive enough. As a party of vision to be progressive, it is certainly not yet progressive.

I think I am worried that our leaders have become very comfortable to imagine that they can do anything and get away with it. “We must appeal to our leaders that things are al- most getting out of hand at the rate at which we are going under a party that is envisioned to be progressive. We are likely going to start witnessing rebellion, and if care is not taken, by 2027, we will be kicked out of office, and that means taking Nigeria back to where it was in 2015. I think we owe our leaders the responsibility or President Bola Tinubu the responsibility of telling him the honest truth.”

Lukman is not the only one crying foul from the North, as some have said the Muslim-Muslim ticket projected by the present APC administration was a fluke to deceive the Northerners.

According to them, it has not in any way benefitted the North, which is highly dominated by Muslims.

Also Prof. Usman Yusuf, a member of Northern Elders Forum, recently called out President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stating that he is only interested in Nigerians’ money and not to provide security. Speaking on a Television program, he said: “Our president and Commander-in- Chief, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, from his words, deeds, and body language, is not interested in security. All he’s interested in is the economy, where the money is, and he’s planted his people. Security, banditry, and others appear irritants to him.

“We don’t see the president hands-on with our security. Our military is not supervised by civilian authority; they’ve gone rogue, dropping bombs on our people, and they’re not answerable to anybody. In the United States, where we copied the presidential system, the military is subordinate to civilian authority.”

The appointments of the President, especially that of the Minister of FCT, Nyesome Wike, is one that has pitched the North against Presidency and APC government. For some Northerners and the Clerics, the FCT Ministry is right of the North and for APC government to appoint a Southerner to that seat is taking away the trust of the North from the government. Prof. Shehu Madhi is in the forefront of the Northerners expressing concerns over the appointments of APC government.

They have accused Tinubu of Yorubalizing the economy by appointing Yoruba people into the economic fabrics of the country. From the Ministry of Finance, CBN, FIRS, Ministry of Blue Economy, Customs to the Chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriation, they are all occupied by Yoruba people. This situation is being frowned at, especially by the North. They have argued that the appointments of the present APC government runs contrary to Federal Character. Even, with the appointments given to the North West, some Northerners are still not comfortable with the administration.

Another reasons they are against the present administration is the position of the government on Niger Republic. President Tinubu had asked for the invasion Niger because of the Military Coup in the country.

The North believed that Niger Republic is part of the North and anything against the country is against the North. They accused APC administration of working against the Northern interest, especially for cutting supply of electricity. The North vehemently spoke against such decision by Nigeria government. Also, the inability of the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-rufai, to be appointed a minister is something that the North is not taking lightly. El-rufai was nominated for Ministerial slot but some cabals moved against him and he was not cleared by the Senate. The former governor has been making consultation with some power brokers and traditional rulers, as he recently visited the former President, Muhammadu Buhari.

The former governor, who is a member of APC, is one of the politicians from the North, that the Northerners differ to. Against all the above is the issue of Kano, Plateau and Rivers State governorship crises. For some Northerners, the APC government attempting to turn the country to one political party state through harnessing those states is unbecoming. The situations in Kano, Plateau and Rivers states have been of concerns to many Nigerians and especially Northerners. They have warned the President not to allow the party to plunge the country into political crisis However, the problem with the North is which political party would they support against APC? Recently, a former Deputy National Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic party (PDP), Chief Bode George, said the party must field a Southern Presidential candidate in 2027.

Otherwise, it would go into extinction. An APC chieftain from the South West, who spoke under anonymity said, it would be difficult to change APC in 2027. According to him, the party would not change its Presidential candidate and there would be no any other political party strong enough to take away power from APC. He said: “APC would still retain power in 2027 because no other party would be strong to take away power from it.” He however said that they were worried that the moves by the ruling party to take over Kano and the crisis in Rivers State might spell doom for the party.