2nd April, 2024
A group, Arewa Think Tank, says the north should be more interested in the infrastructural and educational development of the area rather than work to take power from President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
According to the group Nigerians ought to be praying for or their leaders rather than curse them.
The group’s Convener, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu said this on Monday while addressing reporters after the prayer session organised for Tinubu’s 72nd birthday.
He said: “Why would the North stop President Tinubu? How could the North stop him in 2027 after somebody from the North has done eight years? For us to have peace in this country, the North has no option, no alternative, than to vote President Tinubu for another term so that he can do eight years as well. What the North should be thinking now is infrastructural and educational development.
“Considering the enormity of challenges facing the North, it does not need political power now. We must put our house in order and tell each other the bitter truth. Insecurity challenges, which we hoped that former President Muhammadu Buhari would have dealt with, worsened. That means political power has no value for the North.
“It is all about democracy and politics when people begin to run for the presidency, probably to beat President Tinubu to it. Everybody has the right to contest for any political position in the country. They have the right, as enshrined in our constitution, the freedom to associate. They can go ahead and contest.
“For us at Arewa Think Tank, nobody can stop us from supporting the President. All we know is that he will be in power for eight years.
“We had a northern President who stayed in power for eight years. There is no reason we would not support President Tinubu for eight years. So far, he has done a lot of infrastructure across the country.
“I was watching the Minister of Works, David Umahi, saying that Abuja, Kaduna, Kano highways would be completed this year. This is very encouraging because the last administration in eight years could not fix those roads.”
“Look at President Tinubu. In less than one year in office, he is promising us that he will complete it. That is encouraging. So, all we need to do is to continue to support and pray for him.
“Like I earlier said at the initial takeoff of Tinubu’s government, we in the Arewa Think Tank will give him one to one and a half years before we start criticising him.
“We want to give him some benefits of the doubt. We want to give him a breathing space because of the enormity of the challenges he inherited. It won’t be fair in less than one year to start criticising him. If there was a need, there should be a channel to reach him.
“But for us to come out openly to criticise him, we need up to one to one and a half years. Until he fails to work on those areas we advised him, that is when we will start to criticise him. But for the time being, we will support him and continue to pray for him.”