North-West Politicians Now Errand Boys To Tinubu

Tambuwal remains a politician with ideology, character and principle

By Abu Mahmud

The National Zonal Organising Secretary (North-West) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Hon. Aliyu M. Tukur Gantsa, has expressed deep dismay over the absence of principled political ideology among major political figures in the North-West geopolitical zone.

Gantsa, who spoke in an exclusive interview with newsmen in Sokoto ahead of the ADC presidential campaign flag-off for the 2027 general elections, said it is painful and regrettable that almost all the political heavyweights in the zone have willingly reduced themselves to errand boys of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, driven by selfish interests and fear of federal might.

According to him, this shameful lack of ideological conviction is responsible for the zone’s loss of bargaining power and its inability to speak with one voice on critical national issues such as insecurity, poverty and economic collapse. “Politics in the zone has been reduced to personal survival and shameless defection rather than issue-based programmes. We have lost our voice and our strength in deciding any election held in this country,” he lamented.

Gantsa identified former Jigawa governors Ali Sa’ad, Saminu Turaki, Sule Lamido and Badaru Abubakar as Tinubu’s boys, just as former Kano governors Ibrahim Shekarau, Kabiru Gaya, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Abdullahi Ganduje are also Tinubu’s boys. “The reason I quoted Lamido’s name among Tinubu’s boys is that he is in the APC-Wike camp, and everybody is aware of this political brouhaha,” he alleged.

According to him, the situation is the same in Katsina, where former governors Aminu Masari and Ibrahim Shema are all Tinubu’s boys, with the exception of the late Umaru Yar’Adua. He described former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto as heroes in Nigerian politics.

In Sokoto, he listed former governors Attahiru Bafarawa and Aliyu Wamakko, while in Kebbi, he listed former governors Usman Dakingari, Adamu Aliero and the incumbent governor, Nasir Idris Kauran Gwandu, as all Tinubu’s boys. “So tell me, who among the former northern governors is not a Tinubu boy, except El-Rufai, Tambuwal and the late Yar’Adua? Is this really democracy, patriotism or sycophancy?” Gantsa queried.

Gantsa singled out former Sokoto State Governor and Senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, as one of the few politicians left in the zone with consistent political ideology, courage and character. “Tambuwal remains a politician with ideology, character and principle who cannot be bought or intimidated by federal might. His track record as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Governor and now Senator shows political sagacity rooted in service to the people, not personal survival,” he said.

He added that Tambuwal’s defining moment of political sagacity came in 2022 during the PDP National Convention, when he chose competence and national interest over personal survival. At the last minute of the presidential primary, he stepped down for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar — a single patriotic move that secured the ticket for Atiku over Nyesom Wike and earned him national relevance as a statesman who puts national development above personal ambition.

He further explained that the North-West has lost its political relevance in the national discourse, noting that the elites must share the blame for the woes of the region and Northern Nigeria as a whole. According to him, “our problems didn’t start today,” lamenting that the political elites compromised their values and failed to act when it mattered most.

The ADC chieftain listed insecurity and banditry, youth unemployment, collapse of industries in Kano and Kaduna, high poverty rates and the growing number of out-of-school children as some of the critical problems confronting the North-West that require bold, ideological leadership to solve.