Analyst Faults El-Rufai, Says Tinubu Not Responsible for Decades of Northern Underdevelopment

A development analyst and public affairs commentator, Mr. Sunday Wale Adeniran, has pushed back strongly against former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, accusing him of promoting divisive claims and unfairly blaming President Bola Tinubu for the long-standing socio-economic problems of northern Nigeria.

In a statement addressed to the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and released to journalists in Abuja, Adeniran criticised El-Rufai for sharing a post that alleged the marginalisation of northern Muslims under the current administration.

“Mallam, I wonder if you read the post you shared on what the writer called marginalisation of northern Muslims by the present administration. I hope you did not read it before sharing it, but I can only hope,” Adeniran wrote, describing the allegations as misleading and historically inaccurate.

He faulted the article circulated by El-Rufai for selectively portraying certain northern Muslims, including El-Rufai himself, as victims of alleged persecution by the Tinubu administration, while attempting to link the President to issues such as the Kano Emirate crisis.

“President Tinubu was never a governor in Kano State,” Adeniran said, adding that the writer ignored what he described as goodwill gestures by members of the First Family to Muslim communities. “When Seyi Tinubu donated during Ramadan, it was conveniently omitted,” he added.

Providing a historical breakdown of Nigeria’s leadership since 1957, Adeniran said northern leaders had governed the country for a combined total of 49 years, compared to about 19 years by leaders from the South.

He recalled that Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa served as Chief Minister and Prime Minister for nine years, followed by several northern military rulers, including Generals Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha and Abdulsalami Abubakar.

According to him, “only one of them was a Christian,” while the South’s leadership years include “Aguiyi Ironsi—six months; Olusegun Obasanjo—three years as military leader and eight years as civilian president; Ernest Shonekan—three months; Goodluck Jonathan—five years; and Bola Tinubu—two years and seven months, still in office.”

Against this background, Adeniran questioned the logic of holding President Tinubu responsible for decades of poverty, insecurity and underdevelopment in the North.

“How do you then hold a two-year-old government responsible for decades of poverty, illiteracy, economic stagnation and insecurity in the North simply because the leader of that government is not a northern Muslim?” he asked.

He also rejected claims that the Tinubu administration was targeting northern Muslims, insisting that its actions were based on accountability rather than religion or ethnicity.

“It is not true that this administration is witch-hunting northern Muslims. The administration is after corruption, irrespective of religion or ethnicity,” he said, citing cases involving former officials.

“Godwin Emefiele has forfeited some properties acquired through corruption and he is neither a northerner nor a Muslim. Is Yahaya Bello in custody, or is Kogi no longer a northern state and Yahaya Bello no longer a Muslim?” he queried.

Adeniran further dismissed allegations that the Tinubu government was deliberately crippling northern trade by keeping the Niger Republic border closed, noting that the Federal Government announced the reopening of land and air borders with Niger and the lifting of sanctions on March 14, 2024.

He urged El-Rufai to stop amplifying what he described as politically driven narratives capable of inflaming regional tensions.

“Those appointed to offices which you and the writer think should be reserved for northern Muslims are Nigerians as well,” Adeniran said, warning political leaders against “causing unnecessary tension among the people in the name of politics and the struggle to return to public office at all costs.”

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