A former All Progressives Congress (APC) Youth Leader, Ismael Ahmed, says a few members of the northern elite feel distanced from the administration of President Bola Tinubu in spite of mustering a chunk of votes for him to win the 2023 presidential poll.
Ahmed, a former Senior Special Adviser to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Investment Programmes, spread the word on a televised show.
He said, “A lot of people from the north believe that they have put in all they can to get President Tinubu into government. Atiku (Abubakar) ran, (Rabiu) Kwankwaso ran, both are Nigerian politicians from the northern extraction yet Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was able to get four states in the North Central, three states in the North-West, one state in the North-East and with enough votes.
“In Kano State alone, we gave Asiwaju over 500,000 votes. That clear difference that Atiku gave us in the whole of the north is by winning five states. Now, they (northerners) are saying: ‘Are we fully represented?’
“The president can bring out all the list of appointments, but I think there is a sense of alienation from government, from those people, from some sort of elite in the north, that has cascaded down to the average northerner. There is also a feeling of alienation in the East. The easterners might not be as vocal as the northerners because of the votes.”
Tinubu, a former State Chief Executive of Lagos State, has not had an easy ride with the north since he was sworn in on May 29, 2023. A few of his appointments have been flayed as unbalanced by northern figures including Atiku Abubakar, Shehu Sani, and Ali Ndume, among prominent voices. In January 2025, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, said he stopped supporting the Tinubu administration because those in government neglected to act as friends. Recently, a former ally of the president and ex-Kaduna State Chief Executive Nasir El-Rufai, and the presidency have been entangled in a war of words over a few of Tinubu’s policies.
Tinubu has made a few attempts viewed by observers as moves to mollify the north, whose voting strength contributed significantly to his electoral victory in 2023. In 2024, the president set up a Livestock Ministry and the establishment of development commissions for the three geopolitical zones in the region. However, the president’s actions and policies have remained unpopular among some certain fragments in the north, who believe that the region has sufficient numerical strength to affect the president’s re-election in 2027.
The former presidential aide said Tinubu must manage all interests to be successful as Nigeria’s president.
Ahmed said, “The Nigerian presidency is always about managing interests – your ability to manage interests of all kinds that you can think of – regional interest, class interest, all kinds of interest – your ability to manage all the interests will determine how successful you are as the head of state.
“I think the president is doing his best. Does he need to do more? Yes. I expected the president by now to have visited at least states across the country, not just to commission projects , butjust to move around. Kano State is 10% of the country. I think the president ought to have visited Kano, even politics aside.
“He has visited Enugu. I like that but I think he ought to have visited more places. He needs to communicate more. He needs to be more inclusive – people need to know that their representatives have access to the president.”
