The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has written an open letter to Bola Ahmed Tinubu about how decisions in his government seem to favor people from the south.
The CNG’s letter, which its spokesman Abdul-Azeez Suleiman signed and gave to ParallelFacts Media in Abuja yesterday, stated that it was writing about some significant issues the nation was currently facing.
In the letter, titled “Open Letter To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Three-Arms Zone, Abuja, On The Perception Of Lopsidedness In Your Administration’s Appointments And The Pervasive Frustration, Hunger, And Anger In The Land,” sent on September 19, 2023, the group reminded the president that the support of some Northern governors who insisted on a shift of power made it possible for him to become the presidential candidate of the party.
It said that at the time, some Northern politicians didn’t want a Southern president because they thought it would make their region even less important. However, these governors, who were mostly from the North-West and North-East, insisted that moving power to the South-West would help bring the country together, even though some Northern politicians accused them of betrayal and putting their own interests ahead of the larger Northern agenda.
“And in the lead-up to the secondary election in February 2023, both the government in power at the time and your own party, the All Progressives Congress, tried to stop you from winning, but the Nigerian people stood strong and gave you a lot of votes, with more than 60% of the votes coming from Northern Nigeria,” it said.
The group told him that many people in the country were upset, hungry, and angry, even though he had only been in office for three months.
“Also, some parts of the country are already worried about what they see as unfairness in your appointments to key government posts. As a leader who ran on a platform of change and included everyone, it is important to deal with the anger and despair that people feel all the time. Policies and programs that will help the people and give them hope need to be put in place as soon as possible. Your government must be seen as one that listens to the people and acts on what they say.
“We also want you to pay attention to the concerns that have been made about how your appointments seem to be unfair. No matter their race or religion, it’s crucial that skilled people fill key positions. Fairness and equity in all areas, including government, are important for the unity and growth of the country.
“Second, we want to bring to your attention a very important problem that affects millions of students across the country. Even though you recently told universities and other higher education institutions to keep their fees the same, most of them have raised their fees, making things very hard for students and their families, the group wrote.
It is said that the current situation is worrisome because millions of students can’t pay the high fees that these institutions charge. As a result, many students are forced to drop out of school, giving up their hopes of getting an education and reaching their full potential.
The group also said that this problem needs to be fixed right away because students are the future of our country and deserve to get a good education without having to pay too much.