Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has said except President Bola Tinubu retraces his steps and appeases the North, he may not be re-elected in 2027.
The plot to stop Tinubu ahead of the next presidential poll heightened in the past few weeks with pressure coming from Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, Arewa Consultative Forum and some northern chieftains.
Their anger was further fuelled by a recent warning from the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje that northern politicians nursing presidential ambition in 2027 should bury the idea.
However, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent, a former ally-turned-foe of the President, Lawal affirmed that the North could never forgive Tinubu over the manner he brought suffering to the region through his nail-biting reforms.
Lawal said unless the President made a conscious effort to overturn the current hardship ravaging the country and gave listening ears to the lamentations of people, especially in the northern region, he risked losing the 2027 election.
He said, “Let him run a good programme that will remove the poverty in the land. It’s not about him but his bad policies. They are throwing every Nigerian, and particularly the North, into distress. Let him make good policies. Let him listen.
“Unfortunately, when they give them a piece of advice, they will release their attack dogs and even his information managers to go after you. The right to even dissent is now a crime in northern Nigeria. He’s locking up all our boys that are publicly complaining about his policies. So, all these things also add to the tension in the North.
“If Tinubu were to change and Nigerians are happy, we will hail him. When you do the right thing, and Nigerians are happy, nobody will bother about how he came to the government. Now, he is rigging the lives of our people from existence.”
When asked to explain the Goodluck Jonathan treatment some northern chieftains have been threatening to unleash on Tinubu in 2027, Babachir grinned.
The former SGF noted that once the North took a stance or reached a consensus on the voting pattern in a major election, not even an inducement of its electorate could change the outcome of such a poll.
He said political leaders like Jonathan had been unfortunate to suffer a similar fate.
“As for the Goodluck Jonathan treatment, it is possible because they have a lot of money and possibly think they can use it to buy the votes and win the elections. Goodluck tried it by spending a lot of money, people collected the money and promised him they would deliver the votes. But they stayed at home and still didn’t vote.
“That was why you noticed that not many people came out and publicly campaign for Goodluck Jonathan. So, we are also at that point. 2027 is going to be very interesting,” he said. (Punch)
