Arewa Think Tank Tackles El-rufai, Others over Recent Visits to Buhari

*Blames them for bad state of Nigeria

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

A Northern group, Arewa Think Tank (ATT), yesterday lambasted politicians it said were visiting former President Muhammadu Buhari in his hometown, Daura, Katsina State, allegedly seeking political advice from him about their moves ahead of the 2027 general election.
In a statement, Convener of Arewa Think Tank, Muhammad Yakubu said although the group  was not against politicians visiting each other or networking, but when the visits and intentions are laced with mischief, hatred, propaganda and intentions to cause disaffection,  they become problematic.

The group said as far as 2027 election is concerned, there is no vacancy in Aso Rock until President Bola Tinubu finishes his second term in office.
Arewa Think Tank also frowned on the action of the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai for taking the Kaduna State House of Assembly to Court following a probe that indicted him and his cabinet of N423 billion fraud.

“El-Rufai who did not obey court order is the person who is now running to court for protection. He demolished houses even when such cases were still court. Take Durbar hotel, for instance. He pulled down the structure when the case was still in court. El-Rufai refused to obey court orders and went ahead to allocate Durbar land to people who now erected buildings on the land.

“This is an irony life; the same courts whose pronouncements Nasir el-Rufai was not respecting, but he was disobeying then as the governor of Kaduna State, are the same courts he is running to today to seek justice.
“Where was el-Rufai when Tinubu and Uba Sani were fighting for democracy for Nigeria to get out of the military rule. What did el-Rufai do to end insurgency and insecurity generally for the eight years he governed Kaduna,”

ATT further expressed worry that previous administrations in the country could not fight banditry and insurgency for 15 years, while civil war was brought to an end within 30 months, adding those politicians did not do anything for the progress of the nation, but caused hatred among the populace.

“These politicians become audible after leaving power. Prof Yusuf and Sheikh Gumi were championing negotiation with bandits during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. What changed? Only the gullible will fall for their antics. The civil war lasted for 30 months, but the previous administrations could not bring banditry and insurgency to an end for over 15 years.
“They came to power when the North was in the hands of terrorists and left it in the joint hands of terrorists and bandits. The Northern poor masses should reject their political tricks and manoeuvring,” the statement added.

 It said that out of desperation, the disgruntled politicians can’t wait for the next cycle of elections, stressing that they were aware of whipping up hate sentiments and pitching the people against the government.

“We want to believe strongly that the recent visits by some prominent northern politicians to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura, Katsina State, were all plots to contest and unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

“We sighted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was also the Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) candidate in the 2023 presidential election, as well as the former Kaduna State Governor,  el-Rufai, among others, paying a ‘Sallah homage’ recently to former president Buhari in his hometown, Daura.

“It appears to be the usual Eid homage, but looking deeper and beyond the facade, it is a new attempt to build a strong northern alliance using Buhari as a rallying point to challenge and evict Tinubu’s government in 2027. It’s a regrouping of Northern political forces for the next general election. A project we believe will not see the light of the day.

“A Southerner is in power just for one year. It’s too early for the desperate and power-hungry northern elite to start plotting. The South never did that to Buhari. Their intended action has the capacity of ruining the democratic process ahead of 2027 election,” Yakubu said.