Northerners should support President Tinubu for their own good—Hon Idimogu 

Hon Idimogu made his mind known in an interview with journalists on May 24, 2025.

He said supporting another candidate from the south would make the north to wait for another eight years instead of four years.

Aside that, he stated that Nigerians have known Tinubu and what he is capable of doing saying the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know.

Hon Idimogu maintained that Tinubu has performed beyond average and should be supported in order to do eight years ultimately.

The erudite lawmaker stated that time is still  too short to rate Tinubu saying that he needed at least four years  or a whole eight years to rate his performance or compare him with his predecessors.

Hon Idimogu stated, “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the current President of this great country, Nigeria,  representing APC as a party, should be allowed to complete his tenure. It is expected that every president that won election in Nigeria should at least complete his tenure of eight years.

“Already in Nigeria, we all know we rotate the presidency between North and South, and it is the Southern turn and Tinubu is pushing the southern flag, which he won in 2023, and 2027 happens to be another tenure if he wins to complete his  tenure.

“The northerners have done their own through Muhammadu  Buhari, and he did eight years even when people were complaining, so  I think being the turn of the south and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the flag bearer,  they should just give him that support,” he said.

Hon Idimogu averred that Tinubu is not a magician, adding that all hands must be on deck to get results. He stated that in leadership Tinubu would not do everything and would not be everywhere at the same time, adding that a tree cannot make a forest, he urged every elected or appointed leader in Nigeria to do their own side of the work as the president cannot do everything. “As I always say a tree cannot make a forest but I  want people to understand that a tree can start a forest.

“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not a magician, throughout the whole world, sincerely prices of goods and services are always going up, it is not coming down, even in the United States of America. In fact, the same thing and even there has been tax increases. But by the time you increases  tax  like that in Nigeria everybody will shout.”

Idimogu however said that the citizens are not to blame because some leaders are not patriotic and do not care what happens to the led. He added that there is leadership and following problem in Nigeria.

He said,  “Though I don’t blame the citizens sometimes, l always say one thing, because most of our leaders, they are not patriotic, they are not, we lack patriotic leaders. That is why when people get to positions of authority, they do as they like, they don’t consider the citizens, they don’t consider the country, now, what they consider is their personal self and perhaps their families or maybe their friends and well wishers,” he lamented.

Given more reasons why it has become expedient for the north to support Tinubu, he said, “So let me appeal to the Northerners, give your support to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, let him complete his eight years. Even if you say Tinubu is not good and you bring in another southern president, he will like to go for another eight years, and that will be another disadvantage to the North. What the north needs to do, if they give the current president their support, he stays there from 2027 to 2031, they just have four years to endure, if I can use that word, then power will shift back to the north for them to do another eight years.

“If they do otherwise, and it will not be right for them to bring in a northern president, of course, the south will tell them, you have done your own eight years, allow us to do our own eighth years.

“It might be Tinubu, it might not be Tinubu, but the fact remains that if they allow Tinubu to finish his eight years, they have an advantage, one thing is that they have known Tinubu. The person you want to bring in, you need to start studying him again, and they don’t know what the person has up his sleeves. They know Tinubu up to 60% but the devil you know is still better than the angel you don’t know,” he said

He maintained that the President would not do everything, that the citizens must be alive to their duty by making their leaders accountable. “Tinubu cannot do everything, if a policy comes out and he signs it into law, he is not the person to implement it. How many of his Lieutenants can he check? For me leadership is a two-way thing. Citizens need to be holding their leaders accountable, let citizens also rise up and be putting pressure on the leaders either appointed or otherwise, minister, commissioners, governors; you see, we lack patriotism both in following and leadership.

“That is the only way, if we cannot put our country first, and push and do the right thing at the right time, it will definitely take us a while.

“I will appeal to the Northerners, let the sleeping dog lie, whatever the grievances are,” he stated.

He also made it clear that Tinubu is a skillful politician and is not sleeping. He maintained that if Tinubu Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu could win election when he was not in power, with all stumbling blocks, then 2027 would be a walkover now that he is in power. “If he could be President in 2023 despite every policies they were used against him, that were tailored against him, the Naira swap, change or redesign, cashless, the uncooperative nature of the president then, Muhammadu Buhari, he was not cooperating, we all saw it, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu still emerged president. Today how do you now think, as a sitting president he is not going to win. He is not like Goodluck Jonathan, he is not Goodluck Jonathan

“As a sitting president whose ambition has always been to rule this nation, and God is with him, you think he will just sit down when he has everything within his power, everything under his control, I don’t think so.  I think he will have a smooth sailing in 2027,” he said.

“He  is  battling issues of insecurity, it is not easy, especially when you look at the landmass of these northern states. His policies, he is doing fantastically well, petroleum issues, NNPC Board, the issue is that he cannot do magic and when you talk about economic indices it is not something you say one plus one is two, it doesn’t work that way.”

Speaking on the economic policies of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he said. “In terms  of   economic growth,  I can say it is above average. However, I think he is also  trying to ensure that the market determines price or value determine whatever that the prices are, the exchange stuff. I  think they  are trying to get the realistic value of the Naira.

 “Unfortunately it is affecting everybody but I don’t think it was a deliberate policy to punish the people, but the fact remains that we don’t have the foreign currency to back it up. When you look at the demand and supply stuff, it will tell you that when the demand is in excess and the supply is not, of course, cost of goods and services will go up.

“We should also look at the issue of being more patriotic in buying our own products. We are too foreign conscious, we are too import dependent,” he said.