The President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Shettima Yerima, has revealed that there is growing regret among some people in the northern region over their support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election.
In an exclusive interview with Saturday Vanguard, Yerima expressed disappointment, citing unmet expectations and disillusionment with the current administration.
Yerima stated that the northern region had placed immense hope in Tinubu, believing he understood the core issues plaguing the nation.
Speaking on why the north is not happy with Tinubu, Yerim said, “In some quarters, there are certain regrets by the northern region. Don’t forget the eight years of Buhari’s administration brought nothing to the north. So, the expectation was so high that Tinubu knew where the problem lay, and someone like me who had worked with him and took him as a role model believed that he knew so much about the problems of this country and would approach the issues not as a military man but as a democrat and would be able to proffer solutions to them. But the people are disappointed because they are not getting what they expected of him.
“In fairness to him, the situation was very bad. Everybody knew that whoever succeeded Buhari would go through a very rough path to succeed. We never expected that after eight years of rubbish, Tinubu would perform a miracle in two years. Yes, there are expected reforms, and without kids, we may not get the result immediately, but what is expected from the government is that whatever policy you are bringing, there must be a cushioning effect so that people would not unnecessarily suffer.
“People have suffered enough. If he had done it that way, nobody would have accused Tinubu of ill-intention to balkanise the country or govern against any section of the country. He is very exposed and not a local champion. But sometimes, it is one thing to come up with a policy, but the implementation might not go well with the people.
“The North is angry with the government, but the government still has another opportunity in less than two years to turn things around. So, some of us are not in a hurry to conclude that Tinubu might not be of any good to the north. We know the journey is rough. Let us give him some benefit of the doubt and encourage him.
“If he doesn’t do anything that will positively impact the lives of the people, some of us can gang up against him and put our vote where we know we can get better treatment. We will sit down with all stakeholders, arrive at a conclusion, and look for alternatives. Right now, it is too early to conclude that Tinubu has failed.”