Political activist and youth leader Usman Okai-Austin has issued a scathing critique of several past Northern leaders, including late former President Muhammadu Buhari, ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal. He accused them of squandering opportunities to address poverty and underdevelopment in the North despite their years in power.
Okai-Austin, who ran for the House of Representatives in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said that these leaders failed to use their influence to better the lives of ordinary northerners. He singled out former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami, stating, “Malami was as powerful as the president for eight years. What did they do? Now they are crying marginalisation.”
In a sharp contrast, Okai-Austin praised former President Goodluck Jonathan, a southerner, for his developmental efforts in the North. He specifically highlighted Jonathan’s initiative to establish 157 modern Almajiri schools, a program he lamented was abandoned and destroyed by the Buhari administration. “Can anybody be more northern than Buhari? A Muslim from Katsina, and a former military president. Yet, what did he do for the North?” he asked.
The activist insisted that the North needs tangible development, not just political power that does not translate to a better life for its people. He challenged the narrative of political marginalization, arguing that the truly marginalized are ordinary citizens—unemployed youths, women without access to healthcare, and children out of school—who have been left behind by poor leadership.
Okai-Austin concluded by calling for a new generation of northern leaders to emerge, stating that the old guard has failed. “The younger generation of the North should take over leadership. Those who have been in power have failed. They only use the North as a bargaining chip for their personal interest,” he said.
