By Casmir Igbokwe

When a cunning elder wants to draw a delinquent child closer in order to flog him thoroughly, he lures him with biscuit or sweet. President Bola Tinubu has used this tactic for northern Nigeria.

Last Friday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced some appointments made by Tinubu across several federal institutions. Muhammad Babangida, the son of the former military President, Ibrahim Babangida, was appointed the Chairman of the revamped Bank of Agriculture. There were eight other notable appointments.

They include chairmen or heads of such agencies as Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA), Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN), National Hydro-Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), and Nigerian Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC).

Out of the nine positions, eight are from northern Nigeria. Only one is from Oyo in the South-West. Even in that North, North-West took the lion’s share. Three went to Kano, two to Kaduna, one to Sokoto, one to Zamfara, and one to Niger (North-Central). North-East has no representation.

The South-East and South-South are completely neglected. Nobody from these two zones is considered fit enough to occupy any of these positions. Yet, the Presidency described the appointments as the administration’s commitment to “merit, competence, and regional inclusion.” This is hogwash!

In the first place, the President’s action is a breach of the Federal Character principle. Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) stipulates that “the composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and to promote national unity, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.” In most of his appointments since he became President, Tinubu has not observed this law.

Most of the major appointments favour his region, the South-West. They range from the Chief of Army Staff to the Inspector-General of Police; from the Director-General of the Department of State Services to the Comptroller-General of Customs; and from the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and many others.

Last April, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) expressed concern over these lopsided appointments, saying it undermined the spirit of national unity. It warned that the “continued disregard for the principles of equity, justice, and inclusivity threatens the very fabric of Nigeria’s unity. The sustained marginalisation of certain regions breeds resentment, deepens divisions, and could fuel avoidable instability in the country.”

The Senator representing Borno South in the Senate, Ali Ndume, had also accused Tinubu of violating the federal character principle in his appointments.

The Presidency made a feeble attempt to deny these allegations. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, recently released a list on his X handle to show that the President made equitable appointments from all the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. From his list, the North-West led with 35 appointees. It is followed by the South-West with 29 appointees, 25 from North-Central, 24 from the North-East, 22 from the South-South and 16 from the South-East.

No sooner had he released the list than he apologised and retrieved it due to some errors. One of the notable errors was the omission of the names of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, who are from the South-West.

Some Nigerians also observed that the Presidency tactically released regional breakdown that glossed over ethnic dominance allegations. Some appointees, for instance, may be Yoruba but appear on the North-Central list. A typical example is the Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi. Though Yoruba from Kwara State, Fagbemi was on the North-Central list. Dare promised to provide an updated list later.     

The President knows what he is doing. If you think his latest action is to adhere to the law and change the negative perception trailing his nepotism, you are wrong. It’s all about the politics of 2027 elections. There is a groundswell of opposition against him in the North. That region feels neglected and marginalized in the current dispensation. Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, does not mince words to condemn Tinubu and his government. He has galvanized many northerners against the President and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Besides, many opposition politicians have formed a coalition to fight Tinubu. Some of them have gone through different forms of harassment and intimidation. Some governors, hitherto members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have defected to the ruling party just to be in the good books of the powers that be and be free of any harassment now or in the near future.    

The Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, is their greatest nightmare. Last week, the Edo State governor, Monday Okpebholo, warned Obi never to set his foot in Edo State again without his clearance. If Obi dared come without informing him, Okpebholo threatened, his security would not be guaranteed! Impudence!

This only shows how jittery and desperate the ruling party is towards 2027. It partly explains the recent actions of Tinubu. But most Nigerians are not fools. In a democracy, getting people’s support or votes demands good governance, fair and equitable distribution of the dividends of democracy, not threats or manipulative actions to deceive the masses.

Since the APC took over governance at the centre from the PDP in 2015, Nigerians have not seen much dividends of democracy. The late immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, disappointed many people with his poor performance. He promised to fight corruption, insecurity and enthrone a robust economy. Until he left office on May 29, 2023, he didn’t achieve any of these.

Under him, nepotism went to its zenith. He too gave most major appointments to the people of his ethnic stock and never bothered about the consequences or the feelings of some other regions. Tinubu has continued with his poor legacies.      

Though he feels he can afford to neglect the South-East, Tinubu cannot dare the North. The region is a major APC supporter. The ruling party wants to retain that support by all means. That is why some moves have been made to appease some sections of that region. For instance, Abdullahi Ganduje resigned recently as national Chairman of the APC, ostensibly on health grounds. But it’s probably to create room for some realignments that are in the offing. There are speculations that the vice-president, Kashim Shettima’s seat is shaky. Obviously, there will be restructuring of the party leadership in preparation for 2027 election.

Meanwhile, some analysts described the resignation of Ganduje last June as part of a ploy to deny Shettima re-nomination for the 2027 election and remove the vice-presidential slot from the North-East. Ali Dalori, who is from Borno like Shettima, replaced Ganduje as acting Chairman. Some have linked Gaduje’s exit to the expected return of former Kano Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to the APC. Kwankwaso had reportedly demanded the removal of Ganduje as a condition to join the APC. 

Whatever be the case, this is not what the northern masses need. They need employment. They need security. They need food on their table. Even if the president gives all the appointments to northerners now, it does not obliterate the fact that the region is most insecure, and the poverty capital of Nigeria.

Boko Haram, Lakurawa, Islamic State West Africa Province and sundry criminals have made life worthless in the region. In the North-Central states of Benue and Plateau, terrorists of different hues have continued to massacre farmers and other innocent citizens for no just cause. When some of these killings took place a few months ago, our dear President was in France ostensibly to take stock of his two years in office. He only deemed it fit to visit Benue recently. But that was medicine after death. Urgent solutions are needed to put a complete stop to these killings. Giving belated board appointments to the people of the region will not bring that solution. 

The people also need food. In many parts of the North, hunger and other deprivations have become the lot of the people. The hunger protests of August 2024 took place mainly in that region.   

Apparently to appease the North also, Tinubu made another wrong move by renaming the University of Maiduguri after the late Buhari. He knows the former President had many followers in the North. He utilized that effectively in 2013 when he spearheaded the coalition of parties that brought in Buhari as their presidential candidate for the 2015 presidential election. His game plan was to take over from Buhari afterwards. That was what brought about the ‘emilokan’ (It’s my turn) outburst when the powers that be wanted to scheme him out of the equation in the run-up to the 2022 presidential primary election of the APC. 

It is important to let Tinubu and his party know that defeat stares them in the face in 2027. All that the people need is a level-playing field and a clear electoral process that will make their votes count. Once people’s votes are made to count, the APC is on its way out of power at the centre. Will they institute political and electoral reforms to achieve that? It is very doubtful. Until that is done, we continue to live in bondage and deceive ourselves that we are operating a democracy.