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The Illusion of Regional Salvation and the Hypocrisy of Condemnation - Mohammed Abubakar Usman

 

For decades, we have watched Nigeria fall deeper into economic hardship, insecurity, and bad governance, yet every election cycle, many Nigerians still cling to the illusion that their region or ethnic group will produce the nation’s messiah. It is exhausting. It is sad. And it is a tragic sign of our collective failure to learn from history.

How many times has the North ruled this country? Since independence, northern leaders have dominated Nigeria’s political space, from military dictators to civilian presidents. And what has the North gained? Is it economic prosperity? Is it security? Is it the end of poverty and illiteracy? Or is it the continued decay of a region where millions of children roam the streets as almajirai, while the so called elites live an unimaginable luxury?

Take Muhammadu Buhari, for example. His son never went around feeding the poor. His wife, I may not have all the data, but I never seen her run charities that changed lives. His entire presidency was a masterclass in indifference. He ruled with an air of detachment, as if Nigeria’s many crises were nothing more than minor inconveniences. Did he ever lose sleep over the killings in Zamfara, the kidnappings in Kaduna, or the economic strangulation of the North? If he did, it certainly didn’t show, or I haven’t notice. This is a man I followed to three states with my own resources. I almost died in a stampede in Gusau during the campaign, thinking we had our messiah within reach. I wrote countless articles and Facebook posts(then) in his favour, standing as one of his frontline supporters in Nigeria by 2014 but couldn't remember seeing him with such a remorseful gesture.

And then there’s Nasir El-Rufai (whom I supported too), a man who fancies himself a brilliant technocrat but whose legacy in Kaduna is a state drowning in debt and insecurity. His policies displaced the poor, his arrogance alienated his own people, and his governance left more questions than answers. Yet, some still hail him as the future of northern leadership. The future? A man who could not even secure his own state? Our Kaduna of course!

But this is not just about Buhari or El-Rufai. i have grown beyond that. It is about the mentality that assumes leadership should be a northern birthright. It is about those who say, “Let it be a northerner,” as if that alone guarantees good governance. It does not. Nigeria’s problems are not regional; they are systemic. They are problems of failed leadership, of corruption, of a political class that thrives on division while the country burns. They emanated from all the regions of the country.

Look at how Seyi Tinubu, the son of the current president, went around sharing food with the poor, yet many still criticized him. He was mocked, insulted, and accused of playing politics. But how many of the children of northern politicians have done the same? Buhari’s son never tried. Atiku’s children, despite their father’s enormous wealth, have not been seen feeding the poor in the streets of Adamawa, Kano, Katsina or Maiduguri. Yet, many northerners still hold on to the illusion that another northern president will solve their problems.

And what about the TikTok and Facebook so called religious scholars amplifying condemnation of Seyi’s benevolence? Have they ever been seen by their closest relatives or members of their congregations providing food related assistance? Not even their own relatives other than their wives and children count on them for support in their daily struggles, yet they sit behind their screens, discharging self righteous outrage. Echoing volumes of noises that only publicize their ignorant and lack of deeper insight on the Quran and its mathematical and scientific meanings. I had one of them in tis Ramadan talking about the universe with a mindset that proves he is centuries away from understanding its complexity and vastness.

The rest of the gullible that think anything someone does who is not a northerner is a conspiracy against their brothers and sisters I ask you too. When last did you visit your poor relatives in the village to support them with food and listen to their struggles? How many of your relatives can confidently call you for help without their hearts beating harder for the potential response?  How many? Have the children of your brothers, cousins, the sisters to your parents or anyone in your bloodline who is in the village or lives in poverty possess the freedom to come to your houses without fear of dogs or your erratic wife?  Have your friends in the village and those in pains who are waiting for the likes of Seyi to eat a good rice even seen the face to call you or visit you? If your answers receive failing marks kindly allow them the leverage to benefit from someone who chooses to count with them. You may not be qualified to condemn a president’s son who chooses to help people you ignored whatever his reasons are.

I will also pose a general question here. Would Peter Obi have been Nigeria’s messiah? Maybe not. But the eagerness with which some people dismissed him was not because he lacked the capacity, it was because of where he came from. Also, those who supported him may be doing so for the same reason. What a people! If Peter had been a northerner; his losses would have been rationalized differently. And this is the problem. We do not assess leadership based on competence but on tribal loyalty. This is why Nigeria continues to recycle failures.

And for those who think this article is an endorsement of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, let me be clear: it is not. I have been on this journey of illuminating my perceptions in ways I see them since my childhood, and they have nothing to do with my personal, professional or political affiliations. Tinubu is no different. He is a product of the same rotten system. My argument is not that the South should rule, a Christian or a Muslim but that Nigeria must wake up from this ethnic delusion. Leadership should not be about where a person comes from but about whether they can deliver results.

Until we stop seeing governance through the narrow lens of ethnicity, Nigeria will remain trapped in this endless cycle of disappointment.

Mohammed Abubakar Usman
reactiveelement@gmail.com
Twitter: @reactor19

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