Monday, July 13, 2026

Heavens won’t fall if northerner succeeds Buhari: Northern Elders’ Forum

The Northern Elders’ Forum says the heavens will not fall if a northerner succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

• September 20, 2021

The Northern Elders’ Forum says the heavens will not fall if a northerner succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

“We will surprise them in 2023 because we will vote for who we want, including the northerners, and nothing will happen. If we choose to vote for a northerner, the heavens will not fall. We will choose who we want in this country,” said Hakeem Baba-Ahmed at the inaugural edition of the Maitama Sule Leadership Lecture Series held over the weekend.

The group also asserted that northerners would rather live with poverty than being disrespected by southerners as the contention over which geopolitical region should produce the president in 2023 heats up.

“A northerner is a respectable Nigerian. We can live with our poverty, but we cannot live with a sense of disrespect and anybody who toys with our respect. We will fight them to the end,” the NEF spokesman explained.

He urged northern youths to continue to push for a northern Nigeria that determines the country’s direction.

“We inherited the North that determined where Nigeria went. We dropped the ball, and we are leaving you to pick it. The North needs young people to be strong enough,” Mr Baba-Ahmed added.

According to the northern leader, the North has the numerical strength to decide who becomes the next president.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Enugu State police

Opinion

Some foundational arguments on state police

This historical inheritance also explains why the regional police of the First Republic became vulnerable to political manipulation.

Armed Cops

States

Police launch manhunt for driver, conductor over attempted murder of officers

The police command in Enugu has launched a manhunt for a bus driver and his conductor for the attempted murder of officers and the snatching of a rifle.

NDLEA agents

Lagos

NDLEA intercepts multibillion-naira hard drugs from Canada at Lagos port

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it intercepted 8,287 bags of suspected Canadian Loud, weighing 4,143.5 kilogrammes, at the Apapa port in Lagos.

Flooded Mokwa, Niger governor and deputy governor

Rights

SPECIAL: Homeless Mokwa flood survivors seek answers to N4 billion donations, accuse Gov Bago of neglect, unfulfilled promises

As Mokwa survivors struggle to rebuild their lives, they highlight how Governor Umar Bago’s administration appears unaccountable for billions of naira donated for their relief.

John Koko-Bassey, the archbishop of the Methodist Church Nigeria

Uncategorized

Methodist Church recommends death penalty for Nigerian criminals

Mr Koko-Bassey asked the National Assembly to enact laws prescribing the death penalty for kidnappers and perpetrators of other heinous crimes to serve as a deterrent to others.

David Umahi and Bola Tinubu (Credit: David Umahi)

Politics

Umahi begs Igbo to support Tinubu’s re-election, hails president’s South-East projects

“I do not want these projects to stop. I want them to be completed. Therefore, I urge all Nigerians to support the president,” he added.