Afenifere Counters Kwankwaso On Alleged Marginalisation Claim

Pan-Yoruba sociocultural organisation, Afenifere, has faulted the statement attributed to a former Kano State Governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, where he claimed that national resources were increasingly tilted towards the southern region.

Afenifere said Kwankwaso’s statement was not only unfair but also deeply dangerous.

Recall that Kwankwaso, during a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment in Kano on Thursday, warned that national resources were increasingly tilted towards the southern region, resulting in deepening poverty and insecurity across the North.

He also lamented the deplorable condition of federal roads in the northern states, recounting how a cancelled flight forced him to travel by road from Abuja to Kano via Kaduna—a journey he described as “hell” due to the poor road conditions.

However, Afenifere, in a statement issued by its National Organising Secretary, Otunba Kole Omololu, said Kwankwaso’s statement “stokes regional tension and paints a false picture of deliberate southern favouritism.”

According to the organisation, “Kwankwaso’s alarmist rhetoric is not only unfair but also deeply dangerous.”

Afenifere noted that development is a gradual process, and President Tinubu has not yet reached the halfway mark of his term.

The organisation also described Kwankwaso’s statement as “not only grossly misleading but also deliberately incendiary.”

“As a former governor and minister, one would expect Senator Kwankwaso to speak with facts, not emotions laced with sectional bias.

“It must be stated unequivocally that no region in Nigeria has benefited more from concentrated federal presence in the past decade than the North.

“During the Buhari administration—a northern presidency which Senator Kwankwaso conveniently omits—critical national resources were disproportionately channelled to the North.

“The World Bank Managing Director publicly disclosed that President (Muhammadu).Buhari specifically directed the institution to focus its interventions in northern Nigeria. Where was Kwankwaso’s voice for equity and fairness then?

“Road and rail infrastructure were overwhelmingly skewed. The Kano-Maradi railway, constructed deep into the Niger Republic with no economic significance to Nigeria, was completed under Buhari.

“Was this done for national integration or to aid cross-border movement of Fulani kinsmen? Meanwhile, under the same regime, the hell in which the senator travelled was not turned into heaven; the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, started by President Jonathan and designed to reach Iwo Junction, remained uncompleted.

“The Second Niger Bridge was still pending upon Buhari’s exit after eight years in office.

“Less than two years into President Tinubu’s administration, Kwankwaso is crying foul. Perhaps he is unaware that critical road projects have been initiated and awarded across the North, including the dualisation of the Kano-Maiduguri Road, Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega Road, and the Abuja-Keffi-Lafia corridor.

“The Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, neglected by past regimes, is being fast-tracked. Just weeks ago, President Tinubu approved billions for critical infrastructure in Katsina, Borno, and Niger States. By 2027, and indeed by 2031, every region, including the North, will feel the impact of this administration.”

Afenifere, however, urged the former governor to rise above ethnic saboteurs and sectional agitators masquerading as patriots.

The Afenifere said, “Let statesmen, not ethnic lords, shape the conversation.”