Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, has called on Nigerians to give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration a fair chance. He urged caution against rushing to judgment or political upheaval, drawing parallels with past administrations.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Thursday, Aliyu reflected on Nigeria’s political history and the need for patience with the current leadership. “If we could tolerate the late [President] Muhammad Buhari for eight years, oh my God, let’s try it maybe by 2031, we can jettison the arrangement if we find it convenient,” he said.
When asked about the prospects of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) unseating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Tinubu, Aliyu challenged opposition groups to present viable alternatives to Nigerians. “You see, my argument had always been, what is the alternative?” he stated. “What is it if you want to remove this or that government or that governor or that president? What is the alternative that you’re offering to the people?”
Aliyu also commented on Nigeria’s informal political rotation system, noting the sensitivity around power-sharing. “Even though we’re unconstitutional, but we seem to have accepted our rotation… is ADC or PDP saying that the [presidency] that is due by our arrangement, that is due to the South, now will go to the South?”
He warned that internal party defections could further disrupt the political landscape. “By 2031, you may end up with a presidential defection because his arrangement for one term will be with the party. It’s not a constitutional issue. So he may defect to another party, and you have a major problem there too.”
Reflecting on leadership behavior, Aliyu made a metaphorical statement: “You cannot be bad and expect to have your child as an angel. Your child looks at you and the way you behave.” He urged political leaders to make governance inclusive, adding, “Many people, all they want is to be part of the integral process so that they are seen or they see themselves as contributing to the process of governance.”
On the topic of political discipline, Aliyu criticized the lack of internal control within parties, citing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as an example. “There are many people in the PDP which will have [we would have] suspended or dismissed. But we are so incapable because they have been able to use money to penetrate all the organs of the party,” he stated. He also likened defectors to nomads, saying, “a nomad does not have a home, a nomad in most cases does not even have a country. Wherever he finds himself, that is home.”