Lopsided appointments: Northern youths ask Tinubu to avoid Buhari’s ‘errors’

Some northern Nigerian youths have urged President Bola Tinubu not to make skewed appointments like his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.

Under the auspices of the Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF), the youths acknowledged that northerners have no right to complain about Tinubu’s perceived ‘lopsided’ appointments, but expressed their belief that the country should not continue in the same manner.

Some northern leaders have accused President Tinubu of favoring the south in his appointees. For example, Ahmad Gumi, an Islamic cleric, claimed that Tinubu appointed more Southern Christians to key positions while ignoring northerners who, he claimed, helped him gain power.
Elliot Afiyo, National President of the NYLF, told the press in Abeokuta, Ogun State’s capital, on Sunday that Tinubu is widening the gap of alleged lopsided appointments inherited from Buhari.

According to Afiyo, Buhari created an appointment gap of 80% for the north and 20% for the south from 2015 to 2023.

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He urged Tinubu, however, not to follow Buhari’s lead in selecting appointees, “because the country must not continue in error.”

Previous Nigerian leaders, he claims, have engaged in biased appointments, favoring their zones at the expense of others, since independence.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, according to the youth leader, tried to close the gap when he returned to power in 1999.

“However, Buhari came in and increased the gap to 20/80.” Even the northerners Buhari was said to have appointed were not necessarily northerners. We are now seeing President Tinubu’s appointments favoring the South West.

“I believe northerners have no right to complain about lopsided appointments or placements.” We don’t have the right to complain.

“However, as advanced citizens, I wonder: can we go on like this?” Where are we going as a country? As a result, we must strike a balance,” he said.