The ‘vote of no confidence’ on Buhari’s govt and other elected politicians by Northern groups

ORDINARILY, the recent summit of 18 Northern groups and associations at  Area House, Kaduna, last Saturday could have passed unnoticed but for the out come of the summit.  After a marathon meeting, the group rose to pass a vote of no confidence on the President Muhammad Buhari administration as well as political office-holders in the region. Since the declaration, there have been mixed feelings among many Nigerians; while some saw the declaration as welcome and long overdue,, others believe that the group cannot decide for the region.

According to the convener of the summit, Professor Ango Abdullahi, the summit was essentially convened to search of credible leaders ahead of the 2019 elections.

Abdullahi noted that elections were less than a year away and it was imperative that the North searched for credible presidential candidate to replace President Buhari.

Apart from that, the former vice-chancellor said the elders were also searching for credible potential governors and legislators that would have the interest of the region at heart and reposition the North. Abdullahi, who was also Presidential Adviser to Ex-President Obasanjo on Food and Agriculture, told the gathering that in searching for a northern torchbearer in the 2019 presidency, they would assess the current socioeconomic and security challenges in the country.

He said, “In less than one year, Northerners will troop put in millions to decide who becomes president. Our votes will be decisive. We will choose governors and legislators who will decide our fate in a country fast leaving us behind. We will be failing in our privileged roles as leader if we do not actively engage in search for credible options for the North.

‘The signs are already clear that there will be no easy options. Our security, economic well-being and the political muscle to affect our circumstances will be central to the decisions we will make.

“We will also have assess our current situation, particularly our economy and current security challenges, and decide how we should manage them in such a way as to reinforce, rather than weaken, our relative disposition.”

From the foregoing, it was clear that the agenda had been set for the summit.  But who were in attendance? Findings revealed that the attendees cut across a large spectrum of the Northern groups and associations. For instance, the mouthpiece of the region, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), sent their representatives. Others were the Jamaatul Nasirul Islam (JNI),  Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) North, Coalition of Arewa Youths among others.  A respondent  who pleaded for anonymity said that ‘there is no section of North that I know that was not represented. This is indeed, a disturbing scenario. It will be recalled that even before the summit, the chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie, who is the staunch supporter of the president and always protecting the interest of the North  while playing host to the Jamiyar Matan Arewa (JMA)  had said, “We all know that without the North, Nigeria can never survive. We still stand by it. But now is the time to walk the talk in the interest of our people.

‘Chibok girls are still missing. Now it has happened to Dapchi in Yobe State? Are we always going to be the victims? Boko Haram, see what they did to the North-East. They have spread over to the North-Central and even to the Southern part of the country.

“Should we continue to be regarded in the negative side? No! We are leaders in our own right and we must exercise this responsibility for our people.”

Indeed, this statement by Coomasie pointed to one fact, the Northern elite are not happy with the present circumstances. Therefore, the outcome of the summit was apt.  But what were the issues discussed. According to Hakeem Baba Ahmed, who read the communique, the summit reviewed the worrying state of insecurity under which virtually all Northerners live; the worsening economic fortunes of the vast majority of Northerners and the options that are available to the North as it prepares to engage the political process towards the elections of 2019.

‘The summit noted that in spite of notable successes by the Buhari administration against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, many Northern communities still live under its threat.

‘In many other parts of the North, communities are routinely exposed to attacks from shadowy killers, and suspicion and anger at known and suspected killers are pitching Northerners against one another.

‘Armed bandits terrorise rural communities almost at will, while kidnappings and abductions have assumed alarming notoriety. The nation’s security and law and order assets are stretched beyond points where they can’t provide even the most elementary confidence and protection of citizens. The North has rarely been so exposed to multiple and varied threats.

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‘The economy of the North continues to deteriorate in spite of the evident willingness of Northerners to work hard and earn legitimate incomes. Its basic infrastructure suffers massive deficits in funding while its growing population starves from lack of critical investment in human capital development. Federal government spending is severely tilted against the North, while most state governments only pay lip service to real development in their states.

‘ Agriculture shows limited glimpses of recovery, but almost entirely through efforts of peasants and antiquated processes. The North is completely de-industrialized, while the rest of the nation moves towards sustainable growth and development. There is no evidence of bold thinking, strong political will and/or serious concern by any leadership at any level to reverse the alarming decline of the Northern economy.

‘Since 2015, Northerners have occupied positions with the potential to make decisive differences in the economy, security or political fortunes of the region. The hopes that leaders who have exercised power since 2015 will reverse the abuse and neglect of the region in the previous decade have been betrayed.

‘Weak governance, gross insensitivity and unacceptable levels of incompetence have been compounded by battles of attrition in which northerners have sapped each others’ strength”.

Speaking in defence of the group, a former member of the House of Representatives and ardent critic of Buhari, Dr Junaid Mohammed, contended that the group was fair and realistic in coming out with the vote of no  confidence on the politicians particularly President Buhari.

He said they spoke the minds of not only the Northerners but the entire country, saying, the no confidence vote was the reflection of public opinion.

‘Whether you are for Buhari or against Buhari or whether you come from the North or South, Buhari has shown he is incompetent, and he is presiding over a corrupt presidency and a corrupt government”.

Mohammed declared further, “I think he isA media representative who craved anonymity also stated that the recent verdict passed by the group still has yet to receive the blessings of the traditional institutions. He said in Northern Nigeria, traditional rulers still play central role in selecting or anointing a leader in the region.

According to him, ‘Were you not in Nigeria when the Lamido of Adamawa,  Barkindo Mustaph,a told the president to ignore the recent letter of Obasanjo and re-contest in 2019. This is a first-class traditional ruler that is speaking. Don’t ignore such statements. I still believe the president is enjoying tremendous  support from these rulers”.

Apart from that, a politician and a public commentator, Alhaji Mande  contended that picking a standard-bearer was a process, saying, once his party gives him the mandate, he didn’t see how the group could stop him.