Posted by Some young people in Nigeria’s north have petitioned President Bola Tinubu to avoid making “skewed appointments,” in the style of Muhammadu Buhari.
The youths, under the banner of the Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF), recognized that northerners have no right to complain about Tinubu’s perceived ‘lopsided’ appointments but stated their opinion that the country should not continue in the same way.
President Tinubu has been criticized by several northern politicians for supposedly favoring the south in his appointments. For instance, Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi claimed that Tinubu ignored northerners who helped him rise to power in favor of appointing more Southern Christians to important positions.
On Sunday, Elliot Afiyo, National President of NYLF, spoke to the press in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, and said that Tinubu is expanding the gap of alleged unbalanced appointments inherited from Buhari.
Afiyo revealed that between 2015 and 2023, Buhari appointed 80% northerners and only 20% southerners.
But he warned Tinubu against choosing officials in the same manner as Buhari did, “because the country must not continue in error.”
He claims that ever since Nigeria’s independence, presidents have made appointments that favor their own regions at the detriment of others.
The young leader claimed that the distance between the two countries was narrowed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo after he took office again in 1999.
However, the deficit is now 20/80 thanks to Buhari’s administration. And even the northerners they claimed Buhari appointed turned out to be southerners in disguise. President Tinubu’s choices have recently shown a regional bias, favoring the South West.
“I would say northerners don’t have the right to complain that the appointments or placements are unfair. We can’t legitimately lodge a complaint.
But I have to question, as enlightened adults: is this sustainable? As a country, where do we see our future? Therefore, he said, “we must strike a balance.”