Rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, has pointed to former President Muhammadu Buhari as the reason behind the ethnic preferences seen in the current administration of President Bola Tinubu, particularly in the appointment of individuals from the Yoruba ethnic group to key government positions.
Ozekhome made these remarks at a human rights symposium organized by the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) in Abuja on Wednesday, December 11. He argued that the trend of appointing individuals from a particular ethnic group was not surprising, as it was tolerated during Buhari’s tenure, which set a precedent.
“When I hear today the northerners complain that Tinubu has ‘Yorubanised’ Nigeria, with so many Yorubas in the highest places in Nigeria, it’s true they are making a point. But the question I would ask is, Where were you when Buhari, for eight years, literally ‘northernised’ every position in Nigeria? You were either a northerner or a Muslim,” Ozekhome said.
He went on to express his frustration with the situation during Buhari’s presidency, revealing that he had written extensively and even published a book titled How Buhari Mismanaged Nigeria to highlight his concerns. Ozekhome recounted how many Nigerians, despite the ethnic bias, supported Buhari because he was seen as “their man.”
“I cried, I cried, I wrote and wrote. I wrote tons of articles. One of the 50 books which I presented on my 67th birthday was titled: ‘How Buhari Mismanaged Nigeria.’ Some people called it ‘na we we,’ this is our man, and even if he is riding roughshod over all of us, it doesn’t matter,” Ozekhome recalled. “Hear no evil, see no evil because he is our man. Even if it is not benefitting us, the fact that he is our man is sufficient. Once it is no longer our man, we must also take up arms. No country grows like that.”
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