Sajoh criticized the northern elite for their neglect in youth empowerment, leading to a significant number of uneducated, out-of-school children who lack proper values and direction. This neglect, he argued, has created an environment ripe for insurgent recruitment.
He expressed serious concerns about the political exploitation of youth discontent in the North, suggesting that recent protests are evidence of political opportunism among the elite.
“I sympathize with the president that this is happening in his own time and that people could interpret it to mean that he is the target, but I think the target is all of us that are the political elites in Northern Nigeria,” Sajoh said during an interview with ARISE News on Sunday. “If you want my opinion as a Nigerian and as a northerner, what played out was not a perception of Asiwaju by the north, but a clear indication of the abdication of responsibilities by us, the northern elites.
“We have abdicated our roles and responsibilities to empower our youth. We have empowered a large army of uneducated, out-of-school children walking about without imbibing any values, roaming the streets. When they broke into the national library in Kano, they took away everything except books, not one book was taken by anybody. That tells you that their direction is different from what you are thinking of. We have neglected education in northern Nigeria.”
He continued, “I think there are political hawks, opportunists that are trying to cash in on this seeming discontent, as exemplified by the protest, to say, ‘look, we want to gain some political currency out of this.’ When some young people are instigated to say Ba-mayi, which is tied to the call for military rule, it shows politicians trying to exploit an opportunity because most of our political elites are unfortunately opportunists. They look for an opening and then they come in.”
He added, “They have been the reservoir from where insurgents have been recruiting their army. This is a wake-up call to every northern elite. I sympathize with the president that this is happening in his own time and that people could interpret it to mean that he is the target, but I think the target is all of us that are the political elites in Northern Nigeria.”
Sajoh also acknowledged President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide address in response to the protests, praising his speech for its empathetic tone. He emphasized the importance of the President’s willingness to engage in dialogue with the protesters.
“The president’s speech on the issue of not conceding to hate mongers and bigots is very central and key. I also believe very sincerely that his empathy was very genuine, his concern for people was very genuine, especially in the manner the speech was delivered.
“I think the president has conceded on a number of things, particularly opening himself up for dialogue, and I think this is an opportunity for whoever is the organizer of the protest to now arrange a platform for engagement with the government since they have said they are ready and willing to come and dialogue with them.”
Sajoh expressed concern over the violent turn of some protests, which involved young children and raised flags of foreign countries.
He questioned the motives behind the display of foreign flags, calling it a dangerous deviation from the protest’s original intent.
“We were concerned that people whose motives were totally not in tandem with the original organizers of the protest seem to have taken over the protest at some level, and at some level, we could see some dangerous occurrences during the protest. The young people that went out on looting sprees are barely toddlers, 5 to 10 years old. Those ones cannot be telling you that they are fighting over unemployment, unlike the young people that are well organized, peaceful, and articulately talking about their plight as unemployed people.
“Secondly, we noticed that in some states, flags of foreign countries were hoisted. That is a very dangerous thing. Why should anybody protesting the Nigerian government raise the flag of another country? We have also seen people who block the roads, asking for military rule. I think there are some other aspects of these protests that go beyond what the original organizers had wanted us to address. Nobody should deceive anybody to say we don’t need this democracy any longer. Nobody should also say we need a foreign power at this stage to run our country.”
Sajoh further urged citizens to hold all levels of government accountable and to remain vigilant in their oversight of leaders, including legislators.
He expressed hope that the President’s address would mark the beginning of a constructive dialogue to address the root causes of the discontent and bring about meaningful change in governance and youth empowerment.
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