…how has President Tinubu’s nepotistic appointments stopped these governors from addressing issues of the Multidimensional Poverty Index of health, food insecurity, education and living standards? Out of 210 million Nigerians, 133 million are multidimensionally poor. Where are most of the 133 million people located? The National Bureau of Statistics says that 65 per cent of them are in the North. When disaggregated, the child MPI data indicates that 90 per cent of them who are multi-dimensionally poor are in the North-East and North-West.
We are creatures that love to blame the external, while the problem is usually internal – Imam al-Ghazali
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Some sections of the northern elite have come again. They were outraged during the Jonathan administration, in snooze mode during the Buhari regime, and are now wide-awake coalescing like vultures, not because its two years of Tinubu’s government, but it is the second year of reduced rent-seeking opportunities and access to public resources. But their predicament has some logic to it. Most had established virtually nothing, with no viable or known source of income, until they secured political office. Once out of power, it’s almost inevitable to feel as though the air has thinned out.
Now they are back, rallying and regrouping to instigate ordinary Northerners against President Tinubu’s nepotistic leadership. They are not critiquing economic policies such as fuel subsidy removal or floatation of the naira —perhaps because they had amassed enough wealth during Buhari’s “locust years” to endure the impact. They are not regrouping over the killings in Borno, Zamfara, Benue or Plateau. As for Plateau and Benue, deemed not ‘northern enough’ by some, their silence on these atrocities amounts to tacit endorsement. All they are flying are complaints about the evident nepotistic appointments, implying that if they were kept in power, there would be no complaint at all.
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For the sake of an argument, let’s assume that President Tinubu’s cabinet and key political appointments in the security and economic sectors are predominantly composed of Lagosians, how does it affect the performance of state governors and local government chairmen in addressing the significant issues concerning the North?
How has President Tinubu stopped governors from creating jobs? I’m not talking about the distribution of Keke NAPEP. Apart from in Kaduna State, how many new factories were built in the North between 2015 and 2023? How many jobs have been generated since 2015? I urge each state to disclose the number of factories established or foreign direct investments attracted, along with the corresponding job creation figures.
First, security. The security problem of the North is largely an economic one. Historically, the region had never experienced the scale of criminal activities as witnessed over the past two decades. While kinetic measures may offer temporary relief, they fail to address the underlying causes, which continue to escalate. How has President Tinubu stopped governors from creating jobs? I’m not talking about the distribution of Keke NAPEP. Apart from in Kaduna State, how many new factories were built in the North between 2015 and 2023? How many jobs have been generated since 2015? I urge each state to disclose the number of factories established or foreign direct investments attracted, along with the corresponding job creation figures. Meanwhile, Northern governors seem perpetually engaged in trips abroad, searching for foreign investors, as if they don’t know that capital chases investment – not flying all over the globe in the name of seeking investors.
Secondly, how has President Tinubu’s nepotistic appointments stopped these governors from addressing issues of the Multidimensional Poverty Index of health, food insecurity, education and living standards? Out of 210 million Nigerians, 133 million are multidimensionally poor. Where are most of the 133 million people located? The National Bureau of Statistics says that 65 per cent of them are in the North. When disaggregated, the child MPI data indicates that 90 per cent of them who are multi-dimensionally poor are in the North-East and North-West. Or should we reject the data from the Statistician General of the Federation since he is a Southerner, or do we address the real concerns?
Sokoto, the location of the highest incidence is 91 per cent multidimensionally poor, but the governor was reported as earmarking N1.2 billion to renovate boreholes. Has the renovation even taken place? Gombe is 86 per cent multidimensionally poor; Jigawa, 84 per cent; Plateau, 84 per cent; Yobe, 83 per cent; Kebbi, 82 per cent; and Zamfara, 78 per cent. Apart from Bayelsa and Ebonyi, Northern states comprise eight out of the top 10 multidimensionally poor. It must be President Tinubu’s nepotistic appointments that has kept us at the bottom.
…no one is holding brief for Tinubu. Amongst other things, he has displayed blatant nepotism, resisted efforts to cut down public sector excesses and failed to provide political backing for anti-corruption initiatives. But not a single of his actions or inactions prevent the North or any state governor from fulfilling its responsibilities. In fact, since his tenure began, allocations have tripled in naira terms to states and local governments. What have they done with these humongous amounts of money to improve the welfare of their people?
To show that leadership matters, consider Borno, which despite severe security challenges is 72 per cent multidimensionally poor. Imagine where it would be without such security challenges. The state’s growth could have been even greater if not for the substantial number of its displaced persons in various camps. It’s worth examining those who served as Ministers of Humanitarian Affairs from 2015 onward to understand how this ties to Tinubu. Despite having one of the largest budgets between 2015 and 2023, how many IDP camps were actually closed? Those entrenched in the rent-seeking sectors, currently busy with anti-corruption agencies and courts, are the ones now regrouping.
Lastly, on education and other equally important matters, the focus remains on constructing classrooms – primarily driven by the procurement opportunities involved. How has Tinubu stopped them from getting qualified teachers to run the schools? Or curbing wasteful recurrent expenditures to enhance good governance and improving healthcare? Let them name a single public hospital or school that the governors utilise in the whole of Northern Nigeria. Just one. While most states have federal hospitals, yet there is no state government run hospital frequented by the elite. Still, it is Tinubu appointments they want to distract us with. These same elites can’t even handle criticism. They’ve taken control of certain media outlets, leaving social media as the only dependable platform for demanding accountability. Even, numerous citizens in the North have been imprisoned by governors and other elites over social media posts. The few who remain vocal are often based abroad.
In all of these, no one is holding brief for Tinubu. Amongst other things, he has displayed blatant nepotism, resisted efforts to cut down public sector excesses and failed to provide political backing for anti-corruption initiatives. But not a single of his actions or inactions prevent the North or any state governor from fulfilling its responsibilities. In fact, since his tenure began, allocations have tripled in naira terms to states and local governments. What have they done with these humongous amounts of money to improve the welfare of their people? Yet, what do we hear? Some governors allegedly convert these funds to dollars and stash them away — creating illicit dollar demand, which is a key factor behind the exchange rate hitting N1,600/$1. Surely, it must be Tinubu’s failure to combat corruption at the national and sub-national level that compels them to act this way.
Umar Yakubu writes from Abuja.
