According to a report by The Sun on Saturday, September 6, 2025, Prof Usman Yusuf, a former Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has expressed concern over President Bola Tinubu’s approach to governance, especially in relation to the northern region.
Speaking in an interview, he noted that it is dangerous for any leader to neglect the area that largely contributed to his victory at the polls.
According to him, the North gave President Tinubu 62 percent of his total votes, yet the region feels sidelined in the first half of his administration.
Yusuf stressed that politics is built on trust and inclusion, but the current reality shows otherwise.
He explained that by sidelining the North, the President risks weakening his own base of support.
In his view, the political decision to distance the government from a region that played a crucial role in his emergence does not serve national unity or the interest of the ruling party.
The former NHIS boss observed that such a situation was avoidable, but the administration chose a confrontational path.
He described the move as an “unnecessary fight” that only fuels distrust and division.
He pointed out that the country is already grappling with insecurity and economic challenges, and adding political alienation makes the atmosphere even more fragile.
Yusuf further emphasized that no politician can afford to ignore a region that carries significant electoral weight.
He maintained that it is both politically unwise and socially damaging to create feelings of exclusion among citizens.
For him, the people of the North now feel pushed aside despite their electoral contribution, and this development may affect their relationship with the government going forward.
In analyzing the first half of Tinubu’s tenure, Yusuf said the government’s style has lacked the inclusiveness expected from a leader who campaigned on national unity.
He argued that leadership requires balancing interests across regions and ensuring fairness in appointments, policies, and opportunities, failure to do this, he warned, would deepen discontent and erode trust in the system.
He noted that northern leaders have repeatedly raised concerns about being sidelined, and the government has not shown serious effort to address these issues.
For him, such concerns should not be dismissed, as they reflect genuine frustrations among the people.
He insisted that no government can succeed by alienating its supporters while expecting continued loyalty.
Yusuf’s remarks highlight a broader debate about how the Tinubu administration is perceived across different regions of the country.
His warning that the government has picked an unwinnable fight with the North underscores the need for a more inclusive political approach as the administration enters the second half of its tenure.
He said: It is suicidal for any politician to alienate his electoral base, but this is exactly what President Tinubu has done throughout the first half of his four -year term.
He has picked an unnecessary and unwinnable fight with the North and its people, a region that accounted for 62 per cent of his total votes.
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