Ethnic Biases Ruining Tinubu Administration – CEDDERT Director
A professor of Political Science and International Studies, Abubakar Siddique Mohammed, has accused President Bola Tinubu of “ethnic biase” in his key appointments contrary to his pledge to mend and heal the nation.
Prof. Abubakar, who is the Director, Centre for Democratic Development, Research and Training (CEDDERT) in Zaria, made the claim in a paper on Erosion of Public Trust presented during the 2025 National Annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Conference, on Saturday in Kaduna.
The Syndicate reports that the conference was organised by Gamji Heritage to mark the anniversary of the assassination of the Premier of Northern Region and the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello.
He said that contrary to expectations, President Tinubu has allowed Nigeria to be captured “by a tiny clique from his ethnic group,” such that even the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, publicly berated him.
He quoted the group as saying, “Afenifere is for all humanity to be treated with equity, and in Nigeria with 370 ethnicities, we can never condone the outrageous bias by Tinubu to make Yorubas head of all arms of the Criminal Justice system (EFCC, DSS, Attorney General and Chief Justice); the economy (Coordinating Minister of the economy, CBN, Finance, Blue Economy, Digital economy, Trade, Industries and Investment, Bank of Industry, Solid Minerals); as well as the force’s (army, police, customs, immigration, DSS). We, the Yoruba, are not that insecure or imperialistic to covert such a monopoly of power.”
According to him, the ethnic-biased appointments have induced a sense of alienation in other parts of Nigeria, especially in the North, making it difficult for national cohesion and consensus on any important national policy whether economic, political or social.
Prof. Abubakar said this was a negation of Tinubu’s pledge “to mend and heal this nation, not to tear and injure it,” in his inauguration speech.
He recalled that on May 29, 2023, the President had raised the hopes of Nigerians when he pledged to impartially governed according to the constitution.
“Which means he would approach situations, decisions, groups and individuals with an open mind, shun personal biases or favouritism. This promise was well received by Nigerians because they have experienced, on numerous occasions, how partiality by our leaders at all levels has poisoned the polity and raised avoidable tension and, in some cases even violence.
“Invariably, those leaders suffered from the erosion of trust and credibility. They hardly created national consensus on important policies because the echo chamber they created by the partiality they exhibited in their appointments focused their minds only on the input of their preferred appointees.
“This limited the diversity of perspectives that could have led them to identifying effective solutions to the myriads of problems they were to deal with.
“National cohesion also suffered. Impartiality is, therefore, a critical trait of any successful leader. It is a foundation of good leadership.
“However, President Tinubu’s appointments into key public offices seem to contradict that stated intention. Far from renewing hope it has so far been a crude repeat of what Nigerians have been subjected to by some of their leaders in the past.”
He expressed concern that despite the uproar over President Tinubu’s lack of inclusiveness in the running of his administration, he has chosen to ignore the concerns of Nigerians and instead, “doubled down and continued with this negative trend”.
Prof. Abubakar advised Tinubu to take lessons from the leadership style of late Sir Ahmadu Bello, Premier of Northern Region who successfully carried along the region and its diverse cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds by adopting three key principles in governing the region, which include unbiased leadership, justice to all, and inclusivity.
The CEDDERT director stressed that for Nigeria to come out of its present predicaments, it must concentrate efforts in building strong institutions devoid of sentiments, tackling corruption, and promoting justice and equity
He said while it is imperative for leaders to be upright, patriotic, and committed to the development of the country, the citizens should fully utilise the powers to recall non-performing legislators so that others will stop toying with the future of the people they represent.