The north is finished politically in Nigeria

BY AMIN MAGAJI

The recent report that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raided the Abuja home of a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf, picking him up a few days after he spoke as Chairman at a one-day Consultative Forum organised by a political pressure group, Tafjyan Matasan Arewa (Northern Youths Movement), held in Bauchi on Saturday, the 25th of January is nothing but a confirmation that the North is finished politically in Nigeria.

This man the EFCC whisked away was very vocal in his criticisms of former President Buhari and his government. He is also currently preoccupied with calling out Tinubu and the present government. Could it be because of his strident criticism of this government that he is being remembered for persecution?

Now look at the allegations being bandied against him: that during his tenure as the NHIS boss he gave a contract to a company said to be linked to his nephew. This is one of the accusations. Meanwhile, a short while ago, we leant that tens of trillions of Naira worth of contract for the construction of the Calabar-Lagos Coastal Highway was awarded to a company directly linked to the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu. My question is a nephew and a son which is more connected/related? So what are they indeed accusing this man of?

Even when the President was accused of giving the humongous contract to his son, his media aide, Bayo Onanuga came out to defend the president saying boldly: Seyi is qualified as a Nigerian to get government business! Haba, what kind of a country is this?

This is not defending or trying to exonerate the former NHIS boss of whatever allegations but from the character and timing of the arrest, it obviously smells of a continuation of the harassment, intimidation, and decimation of the opposition, especially those from the North who can muster enough courage and boldness to query what the present government is doing to the North.

Even if Prof. Yusuf’s arrest was connected with his tenure as former National Health Insurance Scheme boss, it’s hard to convince Nigerians that the immediate reasons for his arrest are not political. What happened to former governors who had EFCC cases but were overlooked and even given political appointments by the Tinubu administration?

If past activities of a person while in office are the motives for arresting pubic office holders, then the EFCC should explain to Nigerians why it’s selective in the choice of its priorities for arresting people. Why did EFCC wait for six years before going after Prof. Yusuf? Would EFCC have gone after him if he happened to be a praise singer and an advocate for President Tinubu’s second term in office?

Selective arrests of government critics or opposition members by EFCC raises questions that will impact on its own credibility. Yusuf’s arrest will surely cast doubts on the sincerity of the EFCC.

Prof Yusuf had told the northern youths at the Bauchi conference that, “No Northerner should blame anyone for our current situation. We brought it upon ourselves. In 2015, we voted out the administration under the pretence of Boko Haram. Today, where are we? We had Muhammadu Buhari as president for 8 years; yet, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road is not completed.

“Today, the North is crying of betrayal; the question is who betrayed who? Out of the over 8 million votes allocated to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as his voodoo score in the 2023 presidential election, over 5 million came from the North. That means the North chose to be betrayed.

“In 2015, it was the same North that voted for Muhammadu Buhari as President, he spent eight years, but could not complete a viable project in the region but this present administration within one year, go and see what it has done for the other side of the country,” he added.

“All we can do is to sit idle and cry that we have been betrayed. We have people in the National Assembly, they do not talk for the North anymore since the exit of people like Gudaji Kazaure. Whatever happened to the North was caused by the Northerners.

“If you don’t know, let me tell you that eight Governors put us in the present situation in the North, they assiduously promoted the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, it did not only bring the present administration but brought out sharp division in the North, between Muslims and Christians, who were before now brothers and sisters.

“They have succeeded in widening the relationship gap among the Northerners, we have become a joke now. Recently, I watched on TikTok when someone stated that now that Muslim-Muslim presidency has failed us, next time we will try Christian-Christian presidency, you can see what we have been reduced to. The North is really finished!”

It is obvious that Prof Yusuf has become torn in the flesh of Tinubu and his administration. Little wonder that they have chosen to silence him. Today, it is Yusuf, who is being persecuted. Tomorrow, it may be you.

Magaji wrote from Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Bauchi state