Top Priorities of the North: Hakeem Baba-Ahmed Unveils the Northern Region's Expectations from President Tinubu
"Hakeem Baba-Ahmed: We Appear as Electorate Dismissed Every Four Years" or "Baba-Ahmed's View: A Four-Year Interval Electorate Neglected"
In a candid chat on Channels Television's Politics Today, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, once a distinguished Special Adviser on Political Affairs to President Bola Tinubu under the Office of Vice President Kashim Shettima, shed light on the crucial demands of the Northern region from the current administration.
Baba-Ahmed emphatically expressed that the North anticipates President Tinubu to address pressing matters, such as escalating insecurity, skyrocketing poverty, rampant unemployment, and drug abuse.
According to our reports, the Northern region perceives a growing sense of marginalization. When addressing this issue, Baba-Ahmed asserted,
"The North yearns for Tinubu to solve issues like insecurity, crippling poverty, joblessness, and drugs. The North demands attentiveness.
"Recently, I attended a gathering of the ACF, and the atmosphere was unlike any other I've witnessed.
"My group, the Northern Elders Forum, is known for its militancy, but the one I attended was remarkable in the vehemence with which people spoke.
"Not with hostility, but a demand - the North demands attention as a matter of right, as a portion of this nation, we demand more attention to insecurity, poverty levels are swelling, we are beginning to feel marginalized.
"We appear like a region of voters that are utilized every four years when politicians come around and claim we'll receive a little bit of rice, macaroni, and money; we are reduced to mere voters and remembered only during elections.
"With two years remaining, the North is telling Tinubu, look at us, we matter - this nation is collapsing, every inch of Nigeria is struggling, but the North more than anyone else.
"You won't get it has to be a Northern this time - you won't hear that sort of rhetoric, it has to be a superior individual this time - we want to see someone who has either been a benefactor to the North or will be, for the North, South-East, South-South, and South-West."
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Enrichment Data:
Overall, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a significant voice in the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has outlined key expectations from the current administration of President Bola Tinubu on behalf of the Northern region. These expectations primarily revolve around:
- Confronting Rising Insecurity: Baba-Ahmed emphasized that the North is grappling with significant security challenges. He highlighted the need for President Tinubu to take bolder steps to mitigate these issues[1].
- Economic Improvement: The North is experiencing a surge in poverty, and there is a call for economic policies that can alleviate this predicament. The region requires more potent economic strategies from the administration[1].
- General Development: Baba-Ahmed indicated that the North feels relegated, treated chiefly as voters instead of active participants in national development. He urged the administration to give more focus to addressing the North's specific problems and promoting its overall development[1].
On the whole, the North seeks a more empathetic and engaged leadership that prioritizes its welfare and contributes to the broader development of Nigeria.
- Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a prominent figure in the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), expressed the Northern region's expectations from President Tinubu, focusing on confronting rising insecurity.
- In a meeting with the ACF, Baba-Ahmed highlighted the pressing need for President Tinubu to take bolder steps to address the significant security challenges experienced by the North.
- The Northern region has called for economic policies that can alleviate the surge in poverty, a key concern that Baba-Ahmed conveyed on behalf of the North.
- The Northern region, according to Baba-Ahmed, feels relegated and treated chiefly as voters instead of active participants in national development.
- Baba-Ahmed urged the administration to give more focus to addressing the North's specific problems and promoting its overall development.
- In a candid chat on Channels Television's Politics Today, Baba-Ahmed emphasized that the North demands attentiveness from President Tinubu.
- The Northern region perceives a growing sense of marginalization, as stated by Baba-Ahmed during a gathering of the ACF.
- Baba-Ahmed asserted that the North demands more attention to issues like insecurity, crippling poverty, joblessness, and drug abuse.
- The North anticipates President Tinubu to address these pressing matters, such as escalating insecurity, poverty, unemployment, and drug abuse, as conveyed by Baba-Ahmed.
