Tinubu’s Leadership Is Regional, Not National – Naja’atu Mohammed

Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed, a former director in President Bola Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council and erstwhile member of the Police Service Commission, claimed Tinubu has sidelined the North and runs a government centred on the South West.

Speaking on The PAP Show, anchored by Hadiza Malumfashi in Abuja, Hajiya Naja’atu, who now chairs the Northern Star Foundation, a non-governmental organisation focused on empowering Northern youth, said she only accepted the campaign role after repeated pleas and not out of political conviction.

“I never supported him. “I supported Vice President Yemi Osinbajo during the primaries. But when Tinubu won the APC ticket, I was asked to serve as a director in charge of NGOs, which I found contradictory because NGOs should be apolitical,” she stated.

Naja’atu recounted a meeting with Tinubu in London where she questioned him about his plans for the North.

“He told me he had no plans for the North. When I asked what he had for the country, he said his only plan was the APC manifesto. He said a personal blueprint would offend too many interests,” she said.

According to her, when she presented a blueprint for the North through the Network for National Salvation, it was dismissed.

“One of his aides, Masari, said all the North needed was state police. That we didn’t need electricity, infrastructure, or to tackle out-of-school children and insecurity,” she said.

Accusing the president of sidelining not just the North but also the South East, Naja’atu said Tinubu’s appointments and policies show favouritism towards the Yoruba ethnic group.

“He’s a regional president. Everything revolves around the South West. Billions are being pumped into Lagos, even federal agencies and functions are being moved there,” she claimed. “He has turned himself into a Yoruba king, and that’s dangerous for national unity.”

Naja’atu alleged that Tinubu’s governance style mirrors his political control of Lagos since 1999, arguing that he has retained influence in the state long after leaving office as governor.

“No other former leader has had such a grip on power. Not even Obasanjo or any military ruler,” she said.

She further claimed that Tinubu’s tenure has deepened economic hardships, citing increased production costs, naira devaluation, and rising insecurity across the country.

“What Nigeria needs is a unifier, a leader whose constituency is the entire country. But what we have now is a president who has balkanized Nigeria along regional lines,” she said.

She also questioned the federal government’s silence on Sunday Igboho’s secessionist activities compared to the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu.

“If Igboho could walk free while Kanu is kept in detention, what message does that send?” she asked.

Naja’atu warned that the country’s foundation was being eroded under Tinubu’s watch, urging citizens to demand more inclusive and visionary leadership.

“Governance should be about the welfare and security of all Nigerians, not a few. Sadly, that’s not what we’re seeing today,” she said.