A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Sani, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu plans to weaken the political strength of the North ahead of 2027 election.
Naija News reports that the former spokesman of former Vice President Namadi Sambo said the President planned to revive old fault lines as instruments to break any opposition from North against his second term ambition.
In a statement on Saturday, Sani stated that the President would deploy four distinct strategies to ensure he weakened the North.
“As the race toward the 2027 presidential election gathers momentum, emerging intelligence suggests a calculated strategy aimed at dismantling the northern political hegemony. This approach seeks to revive old fault lines, using them as instruments to fracture the opposition’s coalition and destabilize any unified attempt to challenge the status quo.
“At the heart of this maneuver is an attempt to penetrate the North and weaken its growing political alliance an alliance that increasingly appears poised to resist President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term. Tinubu, according to sources, plans to deploy four distinct strategies to break the North’s resolve, curry favor with certain northern political blocs, and maintain an unshakable grip over the South,” he said.
The Four Strategies
According to the spokesman of PDP’s 2019 presidential campaign organization, President Tinubu planned to deploy a divide and rule tactic to undermine political cohesion between the Hausa and Fulani communities, and between Muslim and Christian Northerners.
He noted that the President also planned to forge an alliance with the former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso.
“Engineering a divide between the Hausa and Fulani communities, in hopes of deploying a classic divide-and-rule tactic to undermine political cohesion.
“Exploiting religious fault lines between Northern Christians and Muslims, aiming to siphon Christian votes to bolster the southern voting bloc.
“Sowing regional resentment through lopsided political appointments, selectively favoring certain northern interests to incite protest and confusion. The ensuing agitation would then be leveraged to negotiate loyalty in exchange for promises of balance and inclusion.
“Forging an alliance with Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, banking on his ability to deliver Kano State, with the dangling promise of a vice-presidential ticket and eventual presidential backing,” he stated.
Weaknesses of Tinubu’s Plan
The former spokesman of Vice President Sambo, however, argued that the plan of President may not work.
According to the PDP chieftain, the alleged divide and rule tactics against the Hausa and Fulani communities, and between the Christian and Muslim North would not be successful.
He also posited that Kano electorates could not be swayed through a deal with Kwankwaso.
“Yet, a closer examination of these plans reveals deep flaws and exposes the naivety of their architects. Attempting to pit the Hausa against the Fulani is a non-starter. Centuries of intermarriage and shared heritage have made them virtually inseparable; untangling these bonds would be, at best, a fool’s errand.
“Likewise, courting Northern Christians as a counterweight to Muslim dominance is fraught with challenges. Trust cannot be conjured overnight, especially by an architect of the Muslim-Muslim ticket debacle one who went so far as to stage-manage fake priests to justify that alienating decision to a skeptical nation.
“Of the proposed tactics, only the third, manipulating political appointments, may yield tangible dividends. In an economy beset by poverty, joblessness, and a stifling absence of foreign investment, political appointments remain one of the few avenues of economic survival. As such, appointments can indeed be weaponized as carrots for political loyalty.
“The Kwankwaso gambit, however, seems to misread the mood of the Kano electorate. These voters are politically sophisticated and fiercely protective of northern interests. They are not pawns to be deployed at the whims of any political actor. Their loyalty must be earned, not assumed. Kwankwaso’s influence would be potent only if he himself were on the ballot, not acting as a mere proxy for another man’s ambition,” he added.
