Stakeholders at a prayer session organised by the Arewa Think Tank in Kaduna to mark the 74th birthday of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have urged Nigerians to remain patient, saying the administration’s reforms require time to deliver lasting results.
Convener of the group, Mohammed Alhaji Yakubu, said the prayer initiative, sustained over the past three years, was rooted in religious obligation and the need to support leadership during difficult times.
“In the last three years, this has been our tradition. Islamically, we are enjoined to pray for our leaders, our country and our fellow countrymen,” he said.
“Considering the present situation, what the president and the country need now is prayers, not ostentatious celebrations.”
Yakubu dismissed calls for the president not to seek re-election, insisting that it was too early to judge his performance.
“The first tenure has not been completed. He has just spent about three years. We are already seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
He acknowledged that challenges remain but stressed that progress is evident.
“We are not saying he has done perfectly well, but he has started on a good footing. Let us give him the benefit of the doubt,” he added.
Yakubu maintained that the group is fully aligned with the president’s political future.
“For us in the Arewa Think Tank, we are 100 per cent behind him and his re-election,” he said.
On criticisms from some northern leaders, he described them as distractions.
“You said it yourself, there is a lot of noise. But can you compare noise with substance? We are working with substance, not noise,” he said.
Calling on Nigerians to endure current hardships, Yakubu said reforms often come with initial difficulties.
“There is no royal road to success. There is no success without pain. We will soon get there, and we are already seeing positive signs,” he said.
He pointed to improved fiscal flows to sub-national governments and ongoing infrastructure projects as indicators of progress.
Former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Senator Tijani Kaura, also defended the president’s reform approach, likening it to rebuilding a damaged structure.
“When the president came in 2023, he met a house with a leaking roof full of holes,” he said.
“He had two options — to patch the holes or remove the entire roof and build a new one for lasting stability. He chose the harder path, and that is why Nigerians are facing these difficulties.”
Kaura said it would be unfair not to allow the president complete his reform process.
“It is only fair for Nigerians to give him another chance after taking such a bold decision,” he added.
Also speaking, Comrade Issa Aremu said recent economic and labour reforms under the administration show signs of progress despite prevailing challenges.
“We can debate prices, but fuel scarcity is no longer the issue it used to be,” he said.
He added that policies such as the increase in minimum wage and improved revenue profile demonstrate reform efforts.
“This government has raised the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 and ensured states have resources to meet obligations,” he said.
Aremu, however, noted that more needs to be done in job creation, stressing that employment remains key to long-term stability.
“The key to sustainable security is jobs, jobs and jobs, especially for the youth,” he said.
Special Adviser to the Kaduna State Governor on Stakeholder Relations, Dr Abdullahi Isyaku, who represented Governor Uba Sani, described the event as significant.
“This is not the first time the Arewa Think Tank is organising this. It is about the third time, and it is aimed at praying for the president, the country and peace in Kaduna State,” he said.
He added that the presence of stakeholders across the North reflects growing support for the administration.
“If nothing is working, you would not see this level of support. People are coming together to contribute to addressing the challenges,” he said.
The prayer session brought together religious leaders, political figures and stakeholders from across northern Nigeria, all emphasising the need for patience, unity and sustained support for ongoing reforms.
