As 2027 approaches, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is reportedly planning a strategic gathering with traditional rulers across Southern Nigeria, an attempt to rally grassroots support and consolidate a Southern bloc for his re-election. On the surface, this might appear as a show of unity and strength. But dig deeper, and a more uncomfortable truth emerges: Tinubu’s idea of “Southern Solidarity” is disturbingly skewed towards one sub-region, the Southwest, specifically his Yoruba ethnic base.
Let us examine the stark imbalance in political appointments and institutional control under Tinubu’s watch.
SUBSTANTIVE MINISTERIAL AND STRATEGIC APPOINTMENTS BY REGION:
(1) SOUTHWEST:
1. Petroleum
2. Interior
3. Education
4. Communications
5. Trade and Investment
6. Solid Minerals
7. Blue Economy
8. Finance
9. Youth Development
10. Power
11.Comptroller-General of Customs
12. Director-General of FAAN
13. Chief of Army Staff
14. Inspector General of Police
15. Comptroller General of Immigration
16. Director General, DSS
17. Chairman, EFCC
18. Director General, NYSC
19. Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN)
20. Chairman, FIRS
Total: 20 key positions
(2) SOUTH-SOUTH:
1. Aviation
2. Minister of FCT
3. Minister for Niger Delta Affairs
Total: 3
(3) SOUTHEAST:
1. Minister of Works
2. Minister of Science and Technology
Total: 2
This is not just imbalance. This is brazen ethnic consolidation of power, a pattern that mirrors the fears many Nigerians had about Tinubu’s presidency: that it would serve narrow Yoruba interests under the guise of national unity.
“Southern Solidarity” or Ethnic Capture?
Tinubu wants the South-South and Southeast to rally behind his re-election, but what do they really have to show for his presidency? Beyond token gestures and symbolic appointments, both regions have been sidelined in the power structure. The Southeast, historically marginalized, continues to receive crumbs. The South-South, despite being Nigeria’s oil-producing region, is an afterthought in Tinubu’s governance.
Yet, traditional rulers from these zones are expected to convince their people to support a government that has systematically excluded them?
The 2027 Elections: Not South vs. North
Let’s be clear: Tinubu wants to reframe the 2027 election as a North vs. South contest, an emotional strategy to rally pan-Southern support while quietly cornering federal power for his ethnic base. But Nigerians are wiser now. The real issue is not geography, it is governance. It is about fairness, balance, competence, and national inclusion.
Southern Nigerians, especially those outside the Yoruba bloc, must ask tough questions:
What exactly has Tinubu done for your region?
What power structures have your people been trusted with?
Are you mere spectators in a game of ethnic chess?
If this is the “Southern Solidarity” Tinubu envisions, it is nothing but a political mirage, a call to unite under marginalization.
Final Thought
This is not an anti-Yoruba sentiment. It is a call for equity. No one region should monopolize federal power, resources, and representation in a country as diverse as Nigeria. It is disingenuous to demand loyalty from those you consistently sideline.
So before any traditional ruler pledges allegiance to Tinubu’s 2027 ambition, let them ask: Whose interest are we really protecting, our people’s, or the ambitions of one man?
Do with this information what you will. But remember: democracy dies in silence.
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