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2027: HOW KADUNA FORUM MISSED TARGET
The two-day interactive session on government-citizens engagement which held at Arewa House, Kaduna, on Tuesday 29th to Wednesday 30th July, was supposed to reflect the views of northern stakeholders on the Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration.
Top functionaries of the government led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, went there well-prepared and this was evident in the array of attendees and their speeches.
The attendees included the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu; Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa; Chief of Air Staff, Hassan Bala; Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi; Special Adviser on Policy Coordination to the president, Hadiza Bala Usman, and no less than 20 ministers from the North.
At the end of the two-day summit, however, observers noted that the conclusion was nowhere near the overwhelming presence of northern functionaries and did not achieve its purpose as the voice of other groups in the region, mainly the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) drowned that of the government officials who defended the policies and actions of the President Tinubu-led administration.
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Sources who spoke to Weekend Trust observed that the meeting which was spear headed by the president’s men failed to achieve the purpose for which it was intended, which was to showcase the president’s achievements and get an endorsement for him ahead the 2027 elections, especially against the backdrop of grumblings from several quarters in the region that the president had not done enough for it when compared to the South.
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It was gathered that the planning of the meeting had been in the works for a long time.
One of the sources noted that though the communiqué issued at the end of the event commended the president for the work done so far, the intention was to achieve more than that.
ACF’s concern
At the event, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the ACF, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, drew the attention of the government to the fact that though Northern Nigeria had related with enthusiasm, accommodation and goodwill, and went out en masse to vote for Tinubu, “the feeling among the people of the North is, to put it mildly, completely mixed,” after two years.
“As far as we can see, nothing or little is being done to address the major issues of concern to the North”.
He listed the issues to include; insecurity, agriculture; lack of access to efficient transportation; infrastructure; age-old neglect by the federal government in relation to the development of transportation infrastructure; water Ways; power supply; lack of functional healthcare system; and the issue of oil & hydro carbon exploration in Northern Nigeria.
He said unlike the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge, not one single road of strategic importance to the North has been completed or even properly maintained in the last 20 years and that major roads that are of strategic importance to Northern Nigeria were yet to be completed. He named the roads as; Abuja- Kaduna- Zaria- Kano; Ilorin- Jebba- Tegina- B/Gwari- Kaduna; Abuja- Lokoja- Okene- Auchi and Zaria- Funtua- Gusau- Sokoto- Ilela road.
Others are; Keffi- Akwanga- Jos- Bauchi- Gombe- Yola Calabar- Ogoja- Wukari- Numan- Biu- Maiduguri; Wudil- Kafin Hausa- Katagum-Potiskum, Kano-Katsina; Enugu- Otukpo- Makurdi; Gombe- Biu- Damaturu- Gashua- Gusau; Lambatta- Lapai- Agaie- Bida- Mokwa; and the Birnin Kebbi- Yauri- Kontogora- Makera- Tegina road.
He observed that the N787.14 billion and $651.7 million for road projects show that the North has been short-changed with the South West taking N1.394 trillion; South East, N205 billion, North West, N105 billion while the North East gets N30 billion.
He said this is despite the fact that the federal government had earlier allocated the Lagos – Calabar highway – N15 trillion; Lagos-Ibadan expressway, N195 billion; Lekki Corridor ($651.7m) – N978 billion; Outer Marina shoreline – N176.5 billion; Second Niger Bridge – N148 billion; Delta State section – N470.9 billion; Enugu-Onitsha – N150 billion and Benin – Lokoja – N305 billion.
He compared that to the Maiduguri- Monguno road, which got N21 billion; Abuja-Kaduna-Kano – N242 billion; Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina-Kaduna – N105 billion; Wusasa – Jos, N18 billion and Cham- Numan, N9.3 billion.
Concluding, the ACF chairman said the selection of infrastructure projects being executed by the Tinubu administration, is one-sided and “leaves all fair-minded people puzzled”, adding that an unhealthy mixture of sectionalism, partisanship and cronyism follows most of President Tinubu’s actions and policies.
Goverment’s position
Earlier, the representatives of government said the administration had done well for the region.
Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State and Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, said there is visible progress in infrastructure, security, and economic reforms.
He listed the key projects as the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail line, Kaduna Refinery rehabilitation, and Kolmani oilfield drilling.
The National Security Adviser (NSA) Mal. Nuhu Ribadu, on his part said Boko Haram attacks, banditry, and communal conflicts in the northern region have reduced drastically in the two years of Tinubu compared to previous administrations.
He said 1,192 people were killed and over 3,348 kidnapped in Kaduna State during the previous administration, while more than 5,000 people lost their lives in Benue State within the same period. He added that the various security operations across the North-West have led to the release of 11, 259 hostages as at May while several bandit leaders and their gang members have been eliminated.
The meeting
Another major issue was the circumstances surrounding the event itself. Our correspondents learnt that prior to the event, the organiser, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, had to postpone it twice due to reservations about its planning.
Our reports that two weeks to the event a group, the Coalition of Northern Nigeria Youth Leaders, raised an alarm over the planning of the summit, saying it was one-sided, politically motivated and not broad enough to reflect the genuine aspirations of the North.
The Secretary of Media and Public Affairs for the coalition, Muhammad Isah Imam, even went ahead to describe the prescheduled summit as “a government-orchestrated jamboree” aimed at presenting a selective narrative of federal achievements while excluding key regional voices.
Our correspondent found that the group was not alone in feeling isolated.
Many sources confirmed that unlike previous summits which had the support of other northern groups, this particular one was exclusive to the organiser, the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation. What further deepened the feeling of exclusion, Weekend Trust gathered, was due to expectations that any engagement with the federal government by an Arewa group should be based on the terms and agreements of an earlier meeting with President Tinubu and other candidates ahead the 2023 elections where the northern elders told them they would be invited them for a stakeholders meeting to engage any of them that wins on how the North is fairing under the administration.
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The engagement held in Kaduna in October 2022, and brought together a wide range of northern stakeholders from youth organisations and traditional leaders to political actors and civil society, offering presidential candidates a platform to hear and respond to the North’s core demands.
“That forum was the product of a truly inclusive coalition. What we see today is the federal government partnering only with the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation; just one of the many conveners of that historic engagement. Why are others being sidelined?” Imam asked.
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Findings by our correspondents revealed that both the planning and the conclusions drawn at the summit did not go down well with many northern elders as many viewed the summit as representing only the position the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation.
Reliable sources among the northern elders said such meetings which draw participation from Arewa intelligentsia is usually done in consultation with the other associations representing various sections of the Arewa community.
Background to summit
The year 2022 meeting which they believe informed the recent summit was done under the umbrella of the Arewa Joint Committee and was a wider interactive session with selected presidential candidates to discuss their plans for the region ahead of the 2023 general elections.
It was organised by a coalition of six groups from the North, including the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Arewa House; Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Northern Elders Forum, Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa, the Arewa Research Development Project and the Join Action Committee of Northern youth Association,
The presidential candidates that met with the group then were; Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP)
Weekend Trust gathered that it was agreed that after two years, the region would also invite whoever won, as part of citizen engagement, to assess their performance in terms of the promises made to the region at the interactive session.
It is believed that this is why the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation organised the second round of citizen engagement with the Federal Government at the same venue, Arewa House, to assess President Tinubu’s administration.
Although there were complaints by some organisations who felt sidelined, the ACF made a presentation at the opening of the event.
Chairman, BOT of the ACF, Bashir Dalhatu, in his speech recalled what transpired in 2022.
He said, “this same group, in this same hall, held an interactive session with the then presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, among other candidates. In that meeting, we presented to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a written address containing details of the issues of urgent concern to the people of Northern Nigeria.
“In turn, he gave us his own written document containing details of the issues he believed were of concern to the North and how he intended to address them.
“But we did not stop there. The ACF, as is its tradition, prepared an extended memorandum giving further details of the critical issues of concern to Northern Nigeria. We then sought and obtained an appointment to visit the president. At the meeting, which was held on the 30th of May, 2024, the ACF submitted the Memorandum in the presence of many of the leaders who are with us here today.”
Secretary General of the ACF, Malam Murtala Aliyu, when contacted, said he was invited to the meeting in his personal capacity and not on the aegis of the Arewa Consultative Forum, saying as far as he knows, that is how other members of the forum got theirs too.
President of the Middle-Belt Forum (MBF), Bitrus Pogu, who spoke with our correspondent, said he could not comment on the summit because he didn’t participate in it.
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He said, “even the minutes or content of the meeting was not given to me. So, I can’t comment on what I don’t know anything about. All I know is: a meeting held for nearly two days. People in their capacities were invited—we were not—and they had their presentation.”
President of the Arewa Defence League, Murtala Abubakar, said what was done was purely for propaganda purpose as any constructive engagement with the North should involve the other groups.
“So, we align with the position of the ACF that the current administration has not been fair to the north,” he stated.
SABMF’s submission
In the communiqué of the summit themed; “Assessing electoral promises: Fostering Government-Citizen Engagement for National Unity” and signed by the Director General of the, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Engr Abubakar Gambo Umar, it was “concluded that Northern Nigeria acknowledges and commends the administration’s high performance in fulfilling its electoral promises in many areas and also appreciates subsisting challenges.”
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It praised what it called the increased equitable resource availability to subnational authorities but called for substantial investment in education to address the out-of-school children crisis, especially in the North.
The summit also called for increased and accelerated infrastructural development in Nigeria; strengthening of agricultural value chains, livestock development and establishment of agro-allied industries for economic diversifications. It further called for continued support for economic and security reforms with inclusive, community-driven, non-kinetic methods and foster regional collaboration among Northern states to drive greater interface with the federal government.
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The Director General of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, SAMBF said despite what people say, the summit was a success
He said, “Well, you know, people tend to focus on tangible achievements and neglect intangible ones. But in this case, the intangible is the most important for us.
We believe we have achieved something significant in deepening democracy. For the first time — that I can remember in this country — we are calling the government to come and face the citizens and give account of their activities.
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“That alone is a major achievement. The mere fact that we have provided a platform for the government to come face-to-face with the people is by no means a small feat.”
Ministers at the occasion include, Minister of State for Defence Bello Matawalle; Minister of Defence; Badaru Abubakar, Minister for Information, Mohammed Idris; Minister of State for Works, Barrister Muhammad Bello Goronyo; Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Yusuf Atah; Minister of State, FCT, Dr Mahmoud Mariya; Minister of Livestock, Idi Muktar Maiha, Minister of Agriculture, State, Aliyu Sani Abdullahi; Minister for Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; Minister of Housing, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa; Minister of Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu; Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas; Minister of State for Transport, Saidu Ahmed Alkali; Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism, and Creatiev Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa and the Minister of Water Resources, Professor Joseph utsev.
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