North Was Worse Off Under Buhari – Lukman

A former National Vice Chairman, North-west of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman has said the eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari left the North region in a worse state.

He said insecurity, poverty, unemployment, drugs and substance abuses became almost peculiar characteristics of the region.

He however claimed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu seemed to be only interested in taking advantage of the lack of unity among Northern leaders.

Lukman who recently resigned from APC said it was not Tinubu’s fault if he is uninterested in challenges facing the region, adding that no one, especially Northern political leaders, should complain.

The former director general of Progressives Governor Forum (PGF), made these observations in a statement titled; “Explosive North: Open Letter to Northern Politicians.

He said partly, on account of lack of unity among leaders in the North, Tinubu has marginalised the people of North-Central in the political leadership of the country.

According Lukman, it was quite depressing that the President could marginalise the people of North-Central in the manner he did without leaders in the North showing any concern.

The former APC national official said the opportunity for Northern political leaders to redeem themselves and return the North back to rational order with committed leaders capable of responding to the challenges of the region was blown away during the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He lamented that golden eight years between 2015 and 2023 were lost and instead, the country, especially the North became worse off with crisis of insecurity taking over everywhere; problems of poverty, unemployment, drugs and substance abuses became almost peculiar characteristics of the region.

Lukman said political leaders in the country must be cautioned that things were about to get out of hand any moment from now especially in the North and if care is not taken, hungry people who are everywhere in the region will start breaking into homes and looting properties of innocent citizens.

“So far, one year has pass into President Asiwaju Tinubu administration. No doubt, Northern political leaders are becoming weaker and more disorganised. Even the Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima GCON, who is the highest office holder and by virtue of that should have served as the needed rallying point for Northern politicians, is anything but a political leader.

“With every respect, hardly any official of the current administration of President Asiwaju Tinubu from the North, including Sen. Shettima, is willing and able to take the needed risk to defend the interest of the North. Painfully, what is emerging is that most leaders from the North are more concern about self-preservation in the government.

“Because of self-preservation, already scheming for 2027 has commenced. Within the Presidency there are indicative cold war dynamics and positioning, which is alleged to be responsible for the praise-singing disposition of Vice President Shettima. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mal. Nuhu Ribadu has devalued an exalted office almost to the status of a Protocol Office to President Asiwaju Tinubu.

“Virtually all other Northern politicians holding offices in this government, including the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume are absentee public servants who have been reduced to members of a choir group poorly singing ‘on your mandate we stand’ irrespective of the shaky and staggering reality being demonstrated by the mandate holder with reference to poor service delivery and crashing living conditions in the last one year,” he added.