Daily Trust has reported through its official X handle a comprehensive but controversial political summit that unfolded at Arewa House, Kaduna, from Tuesday, July 29th to Wednesday, July 30th. The two-day event, originally designed as a platform for open government-citizen engagement, ended up exposing deeper fractures within the North and the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, as the anticipated endorsement for the 2027 elections failed to materialize.
Billed as a groundbreaking interaction between the federal government and northern stakeholders, the summit boasted an impressive lineup of top government officials, including Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume, National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa, and over 20 federal ministers predominantly from the North. Also in attendance were high-ranking security chiefs and presidential aides. Their presence signaled the gravity of the engagement—or so it seemed.
Despite the federal government’s well-oiled presence and robust defense of its policies, political observers and attendees noted a glaring absence: a unified northern voice. What was meant to be a platform to celebrate Tinubu’s achievements and win over skeptics from the North ahead of 2027, instead became a battleground of competing narratives—one where grassroots voices, civil society leaders, and even some notable northern elders felt marginalized or outright ignored.
Sources close to the planning revealed that the event, organized by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SABMF), had been postponed twice prior to the final dates—due to disagreements over planning and inclusiveness. Critics argue the summit was deliberately crafted as a one-sided showcase for Tinubu’s policies and lacked the broad-based legitimacy it claimed.
ACF’s Stark Reality Check
In a bold and unfiltered presentation, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, reminded attendees of the North’s goodwill towards Tinubu during the 2023 elections. Yet, he lamented that the region has since been met with what he described as “complete neglect.”
Dalhatu didn’t mince words. He listed key areas where the North had been sidelined: insecurity, decaying infrastructure, poor transportation systems, inadequate healthcare, agricultural underdevelopment, and the stalling of oil exploration projects. In his words, “As far as we can see, nothing or little is being done to address the major issues of concern to the North.”
He further highlighted the stark disparity in road infrastructure allocations. While the South-West enjoys projects like the Lagos-Calabar Highway (N15 trillion), Lekki Corridor (N978 billion), and Second Niger Bridge (N148 billion), the North-East and North-West received paltry sums of N30 billion and N105 billion respectively. Even strategically vital roads like Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano remain either unfinished or in deplorable condition.
The federal government attempted to paint a different picture. Gombe State Governor and Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, cited key achievements including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail line, and Kolmani oilfield. NSA Ribadu noted that insurgency and banditry had significantly declined, pointing to thousands of hostages freed and numerous criminal camps dismantled.
However, these claims failed to convince many in the audience who felt the presentations ignored the real, lived experiences of millions of northerners still grappling with poverty, hunger, insecurity, and neglect.
The summit also sparked outrage over its exclusivity. The Coalition of Northern Nigeria Youth Leaders publicly decried the summit as a “government-orchestrated jamboree” and accused organizers of sidelining critical voices. Its media secretary, Muhammad Isah Imam, asked: “Why is the federal government only engaging with the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, when the 2022 Kaduna engagement was a coalition of six northern groups?”
That 2022 engagement had brought together presidential candidates—including Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi—and gave rise to a social contract wherein the elected president would later return to give account. The recent forum, Imam argued, fell far short of that promise.
Indeed, many elder statesmen from the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Arewa Research Development Project, and other grassroots organizations were reportedly excluded from the planning and execution of the summit, causing widespread discontent.
Symbolism Over Substance
In a post-summit communiqué titled “Assessing Electoral Promises: Fostering Government-Citizen Engagement for National Unity”, SABMF praised the Tinubu administration for “high performance,” called for investments in education and agriculture, and urged inclusive security strategies.
Yet, critics said the communique was overly sanitized and failed to reflect the prevailing dissatisfaction among northern stakeholders. The Director General of SABMF, Engr. Abubakar Gambo Umar, defended the summit, saying it successfully created a platform where government could face the people—a democratic milestone in his view. But many believe the event did more to highlight division than foster unity.
In the end, what was billed as a milestone in participatory governance turned into a mirror reflecting deep-seated frustrations. Instead of galvanizing support ahead of 2027, the summit may have unintentionally solidified northern skepticism toward the Tinubu-led government.
As Bashir Dalhatu aptly concluded, “an unhealthy mixture of sectionalism, partisanship and cronyism” continues to define federal decision-making, leaving millions of northerners wondering if their votes—and their voices—truly matter.
PIONEER NEWS 