Tinubu celebrates Yahaya’s 63rd birthday, sidestepping critical issues in Northern Governors’ Forum leadership. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
President Bola Tinubu extended birthday greetings to Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, marking his 63rd birthday with praises for his leadership as the chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF).
In his message, President Tinubu commended Yahaya for maintaining the NSGF as a platform for regional collaboration, while ignoring the broader concerns about the forum’s limited progress in addressing the persistent issues facing northern Nigeria.
Tinubu praised the governor for his efforts in education, economic development, infrastructure, and agriculture in Gombe State, pointing to progress made in improving the quality of life for residents.
Yahaya and Northern Governors face growing criticism over forum’s limited success in tackling regional challenges
While the governor’s local achievements were lauded, observers note that the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) as a whole has faced criticism for its inability to tackle key challenges, including insecurity, economic disparities, and poor infrastructure across the northern region.
Also Read: FG Grants Petroleum product marketers Direct Purchase Rights
The President highlighted Yahaya’s work reintegrating over 350,000 out-of-school children and improving examination pass rates in Gombe.
However, some analysts suggest that the broader educational crisis in the north remains unresolved, despite similar efforts in other states.
The forum, under Yahaya’s leadership, according to independent analysts, has struggled to generate significant breakthroughs in education, health, and economic development on a regional scale, with rising heights of insecurity.
In a recent report, Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC) had met with the Northern States Governors’ Forum to discuss issues surrounding ‘killings and other criminal activities in the region’.
During the meeting, Abubakar 111 petitioned governors of the 19 northern states to intensify efforts to ensure that peace reigns over terror in the region.
“We believe, one of the numerous reasons why violence continue to thrive in our midst is the impunity that is allowed to thrive in our midst.
Abubakar exposed that usually “nobody is punished for criminal wrong doings they commit” to serve deterrent to others in the north, which he, of course, believed had given rise to terrorists’ activities.
“We are therefore strongly supporting more measures taken and to be taken by Governors of the Northern States, especially the Governor of Kaduna State,” Abubakar continued.
However, the years-long shortcomings of the NSGF have appeared to persist even under Yahaya’s leadership, which have raised questions about its effectiveness in addressing the pressing challenges of the northern states.
Critics like the current Nigerian vice president Kasim Shettima previously lamented “the North is a poor, pathetic shadow of its former self” despite being richly blessed with solid minerals.
Additionally, governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, in his own speech, pointed out security challenges as the core bane of northern Progress.
“The security situation has become ever more worrisome, as people who had co-existed peacefully for several years have now allowed some unscrupulous elements to instigate them to take up arms against one another, leading to the wanton destruction of the lives of innocent and law abiding citizens,” El-Rufai added.
Meanwhile, as individual governors, like Yahaya, are commended for making progress locally, the collective action needed to drive significant change in the north remains elusive.
