Ahmad Sajoh: Riots in the North Not A Reflection of Discontent with Tinubu But of Northern Elite’s Failure 

Ahmad Sajoh, Former commissioner for information and strategy Adamawa State says the northern elite is the primary target of ongoing protests and riots in Northern Nigeria and not President Bola Tinubu.

Sajoh criticised the Northern elite for neglecting their responsibilities towards youth empowerment, resulting in a large population of uneducated, out-of-school children who lack proper values and direction. This neglect, he suggested, has created a fertile ground for insurgent recruitment.

He also epressed grave concerns about the political exploitation of youth discontent in the  North, stating that the recent protests are evidence of political opportunism among the elite.

“I sympathise with the president that this is happening in his own time and that people could interpret it to mean that he is the target but i think the target is all of us that are the political elites in Northern Nigeria,” Sajoh said during an interview with ARISE News on Sunday.

“If you want my opinion as a Nigerian and as a northerner, what played out was not a perception of Asiwaju by the north, but a clear indication of the abdication of the responsibilities of we, the northern elites.

 “We have abdicated our roles and responsibilities to empower our youth. We have empowered a large army of uneducated, out-of-school children walking about without imbibing any values, roaming the streets. 

“When they broke into the national library in Kano, they took away everything except books, not one book was taken by anybody. That tells you that their direction is different from what you are thinking of. We have neglected education in northern Nigeria.  

Speaking further he said, “I think there are political hawks, opportunists that are trying to cash in on this seeming discontent as exemplified by the protest to say look, we want to gain some political currency out of this. 

“When some young people are instigated to say Ba-mayi, which is tied to the call for military rule, which by my understanding, is politicians trying to cash into something that they see as an opportunity because most of our political elites are unfortunately opportunists. They look for an opening and then they come in.”

He continued, “They have been the reservoir from where insurgents have been recruiting their army. This is a wakeup call to every northern elite. I sympathise with the president that this is happening in his own time and that people could interpret it to mean that he is the target but I think the target is all of us that are the political elites in Northern Nigeria.”

Sajoh also acknowledged President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide address in response to the nationwide protest, praising his speech for its empathetic tone. He also emphasised the importance of the President’s willingness to engage in dialogue with the protesters.

“The president’s speech on the issue of not conceding to hate mongers and bigots is very central and key. I also believe very sincerely that his empathy was very genuine, his concern for people was very genuine, especially in the manner the speech was delivered. 

“I think the president has conceded on a number of things, particularly opening himself up for dialogue and I think this an opportunity for whoever is the organiser of the protest to now arrange a platform for engagement with the government since they have said they are ready and willing to come and dialogue with them.”

Sajoh expressed concern over the violent turn of some protests, which involved young children and raised flags of foreign countries. 

He questioned the motives behind the display of foreign flags, calling it a dangerous deviation from the protest’s original intent.

“We were concerned that people whose motives were totally not in tandem with the original organisers of the protest seem to have taken over the protest at some level and at some level, we could see some dangerous occurrences during the protest. The young people that went out on looting sprees are barely toddlers, 5 to 10 years old. Those ones cannot be telling you that they are fighting over unemployment Unlike the young people that are well organised and peaceful and articulately talking about their plight as unemployed people. 

“Secondly, we noticed that in some states, flags of foreign countries were hoisted. That is a very dangerous thing. Why should anybody protesting the Nigerian government raise the flag of another country? We have also seen people who block the roads, asking for military rule. I think there are some other aspects of this protests that go beyond the original organisers had wanted us to address. Nobody should deceive anybody to say we don’t need this democracy any longer. Nobody should also say we need a foreign power at this stage to run our country.”

Sajoh further urged citizens to hold all levels of government accountable and to remain vigilant in their oversight of leaders, including legislators. 

He expressed hope that the President’s address would mark the beginning of a constructive dialogue to address the root causes of the discontent and bring about meaningful change in governance and youth empowerment.

Chioma Kalu

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