• Bafarawa
• Naja'atu
• Northern Star

NORTHERN STAR YOUTH ORGANISATION: WHY NORTHERN YOUTHS SHOULD NOT TRUST ATTAHIRU BAFARAWA AND NAJA’ATU MOHAMMED

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  Nicolas Adekeye / 4 weeks
• 0
• 7 min read

Friday Lines With: Dr Abubakar Alkali 9/2/25 It is absolutely confusing and preposterous for Hajiya Naja’atu and Alh. Bafarawa, who both are in their 70s and closing-in on 80 years of age, to form a YOUTH organisation and be the chairman and Co-Chair. Haba! How can 70+ year olds lead a youth organisation? It is more confusing when juxtaposed with the ‘politics of sell-out and highest bidder’ in Nigeria. More often than not, Nigerian youths have been deceived in politics. Desperate politicians usually invite the youths into forming kangaroo organisations and convince them into believing that it is for ‘nation building’ only for these elders to offer the youths for sale during elections. These desperate Nigerian politicians use the youths as a trade-off to make money and achieve a pre-determined goal while masquerading as ‘leaders. This is why the youths must be wary of such offers as the Northern star youth organisation formed and managed by people who should have retired. Must elders be in the limelight forever? Perhaps, Bafarawa and Naja’atu know that the elders will not be easily convinced hence they turn on the vulnerable youths. The problem is not really with the formation of the Northern star but how on earth could Hajiya Naja’atu, who is a sexagenarian and a presumptive octogenarian, and Alh. Bafarawa, a septuagenarian and equally presumptive octogenarian gearing up as a nonagerian, be the proverbial NWC ‘national working committee’ of a YOUTH ORGANIZATION? This beggars belief, honestly. To be totally honest, Naja’atu and Bafarawa seem to be strange bedfellows politically. Naja’atu belongs to the radical and opposing ‘naysayers’ of Northern politics who speak truth to power and fight for a change in the status quo while Bafarawa is a key player in the Northern political hegemony that built and maintain the current obnoxious status quo which brought the North to its current medal-winning ‘poverty capital of the world’ podium finish. Hajiya Naja’atu is a radical by blood, antecedents, marriage, and conviction, looking back to her days as a students union leader at ABU Zaria. She is the daughter of Alh Ali Muhammad, a socialist who was an ally of Aminu Kano in the Northern elements progressives union (NEPU), and married a socialist, late Dr Bala Muhammad, of blessed memory, the outstanding and memorable political adviser to the former Kano state governor in the second republic, late Dr Abubakar Rimi, of blessed memory. How Hajiya Naja’atu agreed to join establishment-politicians such as Bafarawa on the same page in politics is something to ponder about. Northern youths should not trust Bafarawa and Naja’atu as leaders of the Northern star youth organisation – they have gone past their primes to lead a youth organisation but can serve in an advisory role. It is more confusing when juxtaposed with the ‘politics of sell-out and highest bidder’ in Nigeria, where desperate politicians use and dump the youths. Hajiya Najaatu has done so much in speaking truth to power. She has, without doubt, paid her dues in fighting the status quo in Northern Nigeria. This status quo threw away the foundation created by the North Numero Uno, the example in selflessness and standout leader, late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Gamji Dan Kwarai. Don’t read me wrong, please; you cannot take away anything from Hajiya Naja’atu. She broke all the barriers, including gender, to rise above the men and be a leading voice for good governance and a new North. A fearless political operator. Despite all these, it is completely wrong and very suspicious for her to lead a Youth organisation at her age. Although she made unsuccessful efforts to secure a federal government appointment in the Buhari administration, having worked tirelessly for Buhari’s victory, she still stood her ground as a fearless opposition to bad governance. Her falling out with Bola Tinubu in the run-up to the 2023 elections is very well known. Clearly, Hajiya Naja’atu’s grandchildren should be the ones to lead the so-called Northern star Youth organisation while she lays back as a non-binding advisor. Alh Bafarawa’s reported age is 71. He was sworn in as governor of Sokoto state on May 29th, 1999, and served two terms. He started his political career as a councillor in Isa local government area. If you take away 26 years (1999-2025) from 71 (his age in 2025), you will have 45, which means Bafarawa became governor at 45 years. Without being age-pessimistic, let’s take for the sake of argument that Bafarawa was 45 when he became governor. Is it not time for him to step aside and appoint a youth to lead the Northern star youth organisation and simply offer advice when prompted? You can’t take away Bafarawa’s seeming passion for a succession plan and transfer of power to the youths, but he is going about it the undesirable way by claiming to be the ‘chairman’ of a supposed youth organisation. To my knowledge, Bafarawa is the only former governor who willy-nilly vowed that he is not interested in going to the senate where he has to ‘raise his hands’ before he is allowed to speak on the floor but will rather give others a chance to vie for the senate. This is quite commendable. The right thing for Naja’atu and Bafarawa is to assign YOUTHS with a proven track record as leaders of the organisation and stay back to advise as board of trustees (BOT). The duo can then provide some unbinding advice and funding (especially Bafarawa, who is a rich man by all measures). Naja’atu can bring her radical and activist disposition towards guiding the youths into standing for what they believe in to rescue not only the North but the whole nation from the current corrupt leadership cul-de-sac we found ourselves. But for Bafarawa to claim that he is the ‘chairman’ and Naja’atu to appoint herself as the ‘Co-chair’ is not only confusing but incomprehensible. It smacks of a possible sell-out of Northern youths to the highest bidder during elections. On the flip