Segun Sowunmi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and member of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, has attacked the regional identity of Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), describing him as a “Northern kid” after he called President Bola Tinubu a failure.
Baba-Ahmed had described Tinubu as a failure, arguing that although the president inherited a poor country with weak institutions, poverty, and insecurity, he had spent three and a half years in office without delivering the expected results.
In a direct attack on his Northern identity, Sowunmi, who spoke on *Vanguard’s Politics Hub* on Wednesday, dismissed Baba-Ahmed as a childish voice from the North who does not speak for the region.
“That’s a Northern kid. What did I say? He’s a Northern kid. When you behave like a kid, you are a kid,” Sowunmi said.
The PDP chieftain, who said he grew up and attended school in Kaduna, stated that he remained concerned about the North and its development, and used the opportunity to question Northern leadership.
He attacked the performance of Northern leaders, questioning what they have done with the resources allocated to the region.
“All the resources that have been allocated to the North, where is the result?” he asked.
Sowunmi invoked the legacies of Nigeria’s former leaders from the region, including Tafawa Balewa and Ahmadu Bello, questioning whether they would be satisfied with the North’s present condition.
He said Northern leaders should be willing to confront the region’s challenges honestly instead of becoming “so loudmouthed” when criticizing people from outside the region.
Describing Baba-Ahmed as a rabble-rouser, Sowunmi added that the PRP chairman did not speak for the entire North, in a further attempt to strip him of his regional legitimacy.
Asked whether he was worried that the criticism came from a Northern elder, Sowunmi said the forthcoming elections would provide a clearer indication of political support.
“They can make their comments. We are going to the polls. Data will tell you that those that are the critical territorial commanders of votes, they know themselves,” he said.
The convener of The Alternative also pointed to the influence of religious leaders and their followers in determining political choices, citing the case of Islamic cleric Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and questioning whether El-Zakzaky and his followers would necessarily reject Tinubu.
He contrasted this with the treatment El-Zakzaky and his family received from those he accused of harming them, arguing that political support could not be determined solely by the criticism of individual leaders.
