John Shiklam writes that the recent two-day Interactive Session on Government-Citizens Engagement in Kaduna, may have been convened in the spirit of civic dialogue, but it revealed deeper under currents of regional grievance, political fragmentation, and contested narratives.
The two day Interactive Session on government-citizens Engagement which held from July 29 – 30, 2025 at Arewa House, Kaduna, has elicited a lot of responses from Northern political elites and stakeholders.
Organized by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SAMBF), the event appeared to serve as a barometer for assessing perceptions about the Tinubu administration in the north ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While the objective of the gathering was to evaluate the performance of President Bola Tinubu following commitments he made during a similar engagement on October 17, 2022, alongside other presidential candidates, the proceedings suggested underlying political discontent among Northerners.
A segment of Northern leadership and public opinion appears increasingly dissatisfied with Tinubu’s governance record over the past two years, raising questions about his support base in the region as the next electoral season approaches.
The interactive session has an avenue for some influential Northern voices, to raise questions about political equity and support as 2027 approaches.
The event which was organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SAMBF), was attended by high-level political leaders, traditional rulers, civil society, and federal government officials, mainly from the North.
Though the event was to assess electoral promises made to the North by President BolaTinubu during the campaigns in 2023, it provided avenues for some aggrieved political stakeholders, particularly a vocal segment of Northern elites who allege growing marginalisation by President Tinubu’s administration.
With 2027 looming, the discourse at Arewa House underscored a potentially significant political rift. The Northern region, which overwhelmingly backed Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, now finds itself divided over his performance and posture towards the region.
The most stinging criticisms came from Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the leading socio-political group in the north. In an address at the event, Dalhatu did not mince words about the North’s disappointment with Tinubu.
“Two years into the four-year tenure of President Tinubu, the feeling among the people of the North is, to put it mildly, completely mixed,” Dalhatu declared.
He accused the administration of sidelining the North in key areas, such as federal appointments, infrastructure development, and budget allocations.
“To our surprise, those who did not support him, did not vote for him and hardly wished him well, have emerged from nowhere and are trying to push a wedge between him and the North,” Dalhatu added.
“Whether or not they are succeeding, we do not know. But we cannot pretend not to observe that President Tinubu’s budget priorities, his infrastructural projects, his appointments, and other executive actions have, over the last two years, largely sidelined Northern Nigeria”, the ACF leader said.
He reiterated the region’s overwhelming electoral support for Tinubu in 2023, claiming that “5.6 million out of the total 8.8 million votes garnered by Tinubu in the election were from the North”— a figure disputed by independent analysts but widely cited by Northern loyalists.
Beyond political appointments, Dalhatu lamented the persistent security challenges plaguing the region.
“Over the last decade, widespread violence, characterised by massacres, bombings, cattle rustling, kidnapping and other manifestations of conflict and insecurity has swept across Northern Nigeria, crippling almost all productive economic activities and social progress,” he said.
Dalhatu faulted the President for allegedly failing to implement bold measures to combat insecurity and youth unemployment, two of the region’s most pressing challenges.
“The federal government’s budget priorities, infrastructural projects, investments and even social services have been openly skewed against Northern Nigeria.
“This discriminatory practice is not done secretly, it is splashed directly into our face – openly and frankly and without the need for apology,” he said.
However, Northern Governors under the umbrella of the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) presented a starkly contrasting view, defending Tinubu’s leadership and outlining progress under his administration.
Chairman of NSGF and Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu InuwaYahaya, was unequivocal in support of the president.
“I make bold to say that the evidence of progress is visible across our region,” Yahaya stated.
He cited ongoing infrastructure projects such as the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, the Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail line, the rehabilitation of the Kaduna Refinery, and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline project.
“These projects promise to bring industrial growth and energy security to Northern Nigeria,” Yahaya said. He also referenced new initiatives including the Sokoto-Badagry Super-highway and agricultural value chains targeted at Northern producers.
On security, Yahaya credited the Tinubu administration with eliminating over 300 terrorist and bandit kingpins through coordinated military operations and improved intelligence gathering.
He also praised the creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development and federal grants for youth empowerment.
“The pain is real, but so is the progress,” he added, acknowledging the hardships caused by economic reforms such as subsidy removal and currency floatation.
In his address, Governor of Kaduna state, Senator Uba Sani, asked Northern leaders to stop blaming Tinubu for the region’s longstanding problems.
He accused some elite of political opportunism and historical amnesia.
Sani said, “For over 20 years, insecurity grew, education declined, and poverty deepened. Where were the loud voices now blaming Tinubu when these things took root?
“It is hypocrisy to now shift responsibility to a government that inherited decades of rot,” Sani argued.
He called for introspection, collaboration, and a halt to the “blame game.”
“Yes, President Tinubu made promises. But let us be honest with ourselves, he has kept faith with the North in many critical areas — security, agriculture, education, economic inclusion. The real question is, have we kept faith with our people as Northern leaders?”
Sani emphasised that the federal government cannot single-handedly solve the North’s problems without strategic collaboration from regional governments and traditional institutions.
The federal team to the occasion was led by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, who urged Northerners to exercise patience, invoking the informal agreement on rotational presidency.
Akume said, “The North will be eligible for the presidency in 2031, not 2027. I said this because I love you. We love all of you. Let us not do something that will undermine our territorial integrity”.
Addressing criticisms on appointments and budgetary allocations, Akume appealed for fairness. “When I ran the statistics, in April, the South-west was leading, followed closely by the North-west, then the North-east, North-central, South-south, and then South-east. So when we speak, we should be guided by facts, not sentiments”, he said.
The SGF defended Tinubu’s policies, saying they are in national interest. He highlighted reforms such as the unification of exchange rates, subsidy removal, and tax system overhaul, noting that they are helping in growth of the economy.
Akume added that savings from fuel subsidy removal were now being redirected into infrastructure and social investment.
The federal government officials took turn to speak on the performance and achievements of their ministries and departments.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), MallamNuhuRibadu, presented an overview of security progress under the Tinubu administration. “We stand before you to give you this commitment, that we assure you that Nigeria is in good hands, and we will restore order. It’s a commitment,” Ribadu declared, flanked by heads of the nation’s top security agencies.
He cited reduced incidents of train and prison attacks, as well as improved freedom of movement across Northern states, as signs of progress. “But at the same time, we ask for your patience. We ask for your support. We need to do it together as one,” Ribadu urged.
Despite the official reassurances, some commentators remain unconvinced. Mohammed Aliyu, a Northern political analyst, challenged claims by government officials that President Tinubu has performed well in the North.
Aliyu said, “Some of these so-called leaders are not telling the President the predicaments of Northerners under his administration. The true state of Northern Nigeria is one of pain, poverty, and peril. Under the current administration, poverty has intensified.”
Aliyu warned that public frustration could translate into political consequences in 2027.
He said “Northerners did not bargain for this crippling hardship when they supported Tinubu in 2023 and I can tell you that they are not happy. The North is watching. Failure to recalibrate policy direction could lead to political backlash for Tinubu in 2027”, he said.
However, a communique issued at the end of the event praised Tinubu for on-going projects like the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline and Kolmani oil exploration, among others.
The communique signed by the Director General of SAMBF, Abubakar Umar, also listed areas demanding urgent attention.
According to the communique, key concerns included the out-of-school children crisis, the Almajiri system, insecurity, poverty, and the need for a fairer allocation of national resources.
The communiqué urged periodic institutionalised engagements between government and citizens, increased federal-state collaboration, and inclusive approaches to development and security.
The communique stated that, “Northern Nigeria acknowledges and commends the administration’s high performance in fulfilling its electoral promises.
“We also recognise that more needs to be done to promote fairness, transparency, and equity.”
The interactive session in Kaduna may have been convened in the spirit of civic dialogue, but it revealed deeper currents of regional grievance, political fragmentation, and contested narratives.
For President Tinubu, who faces re-election in 2027, the message from parts of the North is unmistakable: the region is demanding for more before supporting him in 2027. The interactive session was meant to be a platform for reflection and dialogue. In reality, it became a test of Tinubu’s (thisday)
