“After Decades in Politics, I’ve Never Seen a President Like Tinubu” — Masari

Former Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari has thrown his weight behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, saying his long experience in Nigerian politics has not exposed him to a president whose plans for the country compare with those of the current administration.

Masari made the declaration at a public gathering in Kaduna while urging Nigerians not to allow political arguments over religion, ethnicity and the performance of successive governments to overshadow what he described as the broader national interest.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said his opinion was shaped by almost 40 years of involvement in Nigerian politics, during which he had observed several administrations and witnessed the controversies that accompanied them.

“I can confidently say I have never seen a president with better plans to make Nigeria great than Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I have simply never seen anyone like him,” Masari said in a video published by Hausa-language media platform HM Arewa.

His comments come at a politically significant period, with the 2027 general elections drawing closer and Masari now playing an active role in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)'s campaign structure.

In August, the former governor was appointed Deputy Director-General, Parliamentary Mobilisation, of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign.

Masari also pushed back against arguments that the Tinubu administration had failed to make meaningful progress, saying similar complaints had accompanied previous governments regardless of their policies or achievements.

He recalled the political atmosphere during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, saying allegations of sectionalism and tribalism became prominent after Obasanjo completed his first four years in office.

According to Masari, former President Goodluck Jonathan faced comparable criticism, suggesting that the current political debate surrounding Tinubu follows a pattern that has repeatedly emerged in Nigeria.

“A short look at our history shows that in 1999, after Obasanjo finished his first four years, these same people came out with issues of sectionalism and tribalism,” he said.

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“They did the exact same thing to Goodluck Jonathan, and that is exactly what they are doing now.”

The former governor also turned his attention to the growing use of religion and ethnicity in political conversations, questioning why Nigerians should associate particular faiths with specific ethnic groups.

He argued that religion cuts across the country's major ethnic communities and should not be turned into a political tool.

“What surprises me about our people when they talk about religion is this: is religion exclusive to the Hausa, the Yoruba, or even the Igbo?” Masari asked.

He particularly appealed to women preachers and community influencers to help calm tensions ahead of the 2027 elections, urging them to use their influence within their homes to discourage inflammatory political messages.

Masari said women often have considerable influence over their husbands, children and other members of their families and could therefore play an important role in preventing political disagreements from degenerating into ethnic or religious hostility.

“Each and every one of you knows how to talk to her husband or children better than anyone else can,” he told the women.

The former governor alleged that some of the narratives fuelling divisions were being pushed by individuals pursuing personal interests and urged Nigerians to be wary of attempts to exploit religious and ethnic identities for political gain.

Masari's political career spans several decades. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007 before becoming governor of Katsina State in 2015, a position he held until 2023.