The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), a socio-cultural group from northern Nigeria, has expressed that the people of the North regret voting for President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 elections.
The President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Shettima Yerima, added that the northern people are willing to work against Tinubu’s reelection in 2027 if he does not change the current situation of the country.
He addressed the broader dissatisfaction in the north, reflecting on the high expectations from the Tinubu-led government, emphasising the need to address insecurity and economic hardship to win back the trust of the northern populace.
The Arewa youth leader also criticised some state governors for their lack of creativity and initiative in generating revenue within their states.
Speaking with Vanguard, he noted that some governors rely heavily on federal allocations, preferring to share federal funds with their cronies rather than investing in their states’ development.
He argued that decentralising the federal structure would force states to become more productive and self-sufficient, ultimately benefiting the entire country.
Yerima added that there are massive regrets from Northern people who voted for Tinubu in 2023 despite the failures of his party man, Muhammadu Buhari.
He continued: “In some quarters, there are certain regrets by the northern region. Don’t forget the eight years of Buhari’s administration brought nothing to the north.
“So, the expectation was so high that Tinubu knew where the problem lay, and someone like me who had worked with him and taken him as a role model, l believed that he knew so much about the problems of this country and would approach the issues not as a military man but as a democrat and would be able to proffer solutions to them.
“But the people are disappointed because they are not getting what they expected of him.
“In fairness to him, the situation was very bad. Everybody knew that whoever succeeded Buhari would go through a very rough path to succeed. We never expected that after eight years of rubbish, Tinubu would perform a miracle in two years. Yes, there are expected reforms, and without kids, we may not get the result immediately, but what is expected from the government is that whatever policy you are bringing, there must be a cushioning effect so that people would not unnecessarily suffer.
“People have suffered enough. If he had done it that way, nobody would have accused Tinubu of ill-intention to balkanise the country or govern against any section of the country. He is very exposed and not a local champion. But sometimes, it is one thing to come up with a policy, but the implementation might not go well with the people.
“The North is angry with the government, but the government still has another opportunity in less than two years to turn things around. So, some of us are not in a hurry to conclude that Tinubu might not be of any good to the north. We know the journey is rough. Let us give him some benefit of the doubt and encourage him.
“If he doesn’t do anything that will positively impact the lives of the people, some of us can gang up against him and put our vote where we know we can get better treatment. We will sit down with all stakeholders, arrive at a conclusion, and look for alternatives. Right now, it is too early to conclude that Tinubu has failed.”
