WHY NORTHERNERS KEPT QUIET UNDER BUHARI — REPLY TO SHEHU SANI

WHY NORTHERNERS KEPT QUIET UNDER BUHARI — REPLY TO SHEHU SANI

_By Umar Sanda Babuga

1. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari wasn’t tribalistic. His two super Ministers (Fashola – Works and Amaechi – Transport) were both Southerners.
2. Northerners kept quiet because while Buhari was rehabilitating Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, he had completed Ilorin-Bode Saadu-Jebba highway and was undertaking Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
3. Northerners kept quiet because while Buhari completed ABUJA-Kaduna rail line, he started and completed Lagos-Abeokuta/Ibadan standard gauge railway.
4. While Buhari maintained subsidy making life easier for Nigerians, Tinubu removed it and things have never been the same. That is why northerners kept quiet.
5. Northerners kept quiet because there was school feeding across Nigeria which brought over 5 million out-of-school children (mostly in the North) back to school.
6. Northerners kept quiet because all 36 States had 1 minister each, with only 6 states having 2 (one from each zone), unlike PBAT that gave Ogun state alone 4 Ministers including Finance Minister and CBN Governor.
7. ON SECURITY & SOPHISTICATED WEAPONS: Northerners kept quiet because Buhari invested over $1 Billion in weapons to fight insecurity. For the first time since 1999, the Armed Forces were fully re-equipped.

• Air Force: 38 brand new aircraft — 12 A-29 Super Tucano Jets from USA, 3 JF-17 Thunder Jets, 5 Mi-35M attack Helicopters, 4 Agusta 109, 2 Bell 412, 2 Mi-171E, 10 Super Mushshak. Plus he ordered 12 AH-1Z Viper — world’s deadliest attack helicopter — and 24 M-346 attack jets. He also raised aircraft serviceability from 35% to 70%.
• Army: VT-4 Main Battle Tanks, ST1 Light Tanks, SH-5 Self-propelled Howitzers, and hundreds of Armoured Vehicles.
• Navy: Over 400 new platforms — 200 Riverine Patrol Boats, 114 Rigid Inflatable Boats, 4 Capital Ships, and Surveillance Drones. Because of this, Boko Haram deaths dropped by 92% (from 2,131 in 2015 to 178 in 2021) and Nigeria recorded lowest piracy in 27 years.

1. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari ensured we eat what we produce. That policy created hundreds of rice mills, farmers were happy, our GDP improved since agriculture contributes nearly 40% of GDP, unlike PBAT who gave 150-day duty-free waiver to import food.
2. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari’s appointments were across the 6 geopolitical zones, unlike PBAT who takes almost everything to South West.
3. Northerners kept quiet under Buhari because there was NPower, Conditional Cash Transfer, TraderMoni, MarketMoni, FarmerMoni. But PBAT increased school fees from N50,000 to N150,000, gives you loan and expects repayment.
4. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari gave the judiciary and opposition a free hand to operate, that cannot be said under this government.
5. Northerners kept quiet because the economic team was under South West under Buhari (Osinbajo, Kemi Adeosun, Babatunde Fowler etc). Now everything is concentrated in South West.
6. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari completed Second Niger Bridge after 50 years of failed promises — a project in South East, not North.
7. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari recovered 20 Local Governments from Boko Haram. In 2015 Boko Haram controlled 20 LGs and hoisted flags. By 2017, no inch of Nigeria was under them.
8. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari built 14 new Federal Universities and completed 5 International Airport Terminals — Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu — not one zone.
9. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari signed Petroleum Industry Act after 20 years of failure, and started 614km AKK Gas Pipeline to revive Northern industries.
10. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari exited Nigeria from recession TWICE (2017 & 2021) and gave bailout to all 36 States to pay salaries without minding APC or PDP.
11. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari gave LG Autonomy and signed Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill.
12. Northerners kept quiet because under Buhari, Nigeria became Africa’s largest rice producer — from 4.5m tonnes to over 9m tonnes.
13. Northerners kept quiet because under Buhari you could abuse the President and sleep in your house. He never used DSS or Cybercrime law to pick critics for Facebook posts.
14. Northerners kept quiet because Buhari increased Minimum Wage from N18k to N30k and petrol was N87 when he came, left at N195 after 8 years — not N1,000.
15. In summary, Buhari governed as a Nigerian, Tinubu is governing as a Yoruba man.

Me: In between, despite Buhari’s verifiable and impactful achievements, some of the most bitter critics of Buhari were/are Northerners. Till date, many Northerners believed Buhari shortchanged the North for the South, some believed he didn’t make life easier enough for Nigerians, some believed their expectation wasn’t met, and many believed he didn’t do enough in the area of curbing insecurity and their voices were the loudest.

Infact, the Northern Elders Forum categorically asked Buhari to resign, and openly sided with the opposition in the 2019 Election.

May Allah have mercy on Buhari and grant him Jannah. Ameen