Yari and the Tinubu 2027 Project: Can a Northern Power Broker Help the President Reconnect With Nigerians?

By Umar Usman Duguri

ABUJA — If President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is serious about securing another mandate in 2027, perhaps his greatest political challenge is not the opposition. It is the distance between the reality experienced by ordinary Nigerians and the picture of the country sometimes presented to the President by political loyalists and praise singers.

The President needs people around him who are prepared to tell him the uncomfortable truth.

He needs advisers and political allies who can say, without fear or political calculation, that millions of Nigerians are still struggling with the cost of food, transportation, housing and basic services; that insecurity continues to threaten communities and livelihoods; that unemployment and underemployment remain serious concerns; and that many households have yet to feel the benefits of the administration’s economic reforms.

This is where the emergence of Senator Abdulaziz Yari as Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council becomes politically significant.

Yari is not merely being handed a campaign position. He is being placed at the centre of an enormous political assignment: helping an incumbent president rebuild confidence among voters ahead of a difficult national contest.

And perhaps the most important contribution he can make is not to tell Nigerians that everything is working.

It is to ensure that President Tinubu hears what Nigerians are actually saying.

The President Must Hear the Country Beyond the Applause

Every government eventually develops an inner circle.

As power becomes concentrated around the Presidency, there is an inevitable danger that political appointees, party loyalists and beneficiaries begin presenting the administration through the prism of their own interests.

The President is then told that the economy is improving, that Nigerians are satisfied, that the opposition is finished and that the government has never been stronger.

Some of these claims may contain elements of truth.

But governance cannot be measured by applause at political gatherings.

The real test is the market woman who cannot afford the food she once bought, the farmer who is afraid to return to his farm because of insecurity, the young graduate searching unsuccessfully for employment, the small business owner struggling with operating costs and the family whose income disappears before the end of the month.

Those voices matter.

And if the President is surrounded predominantly by people whose political survival depends on telling him what he wants to hear, the danger is that government may lose touch with the country it governs.

For Tinubu, 2027 therefore requires a deliberate effort to create an environment where bad news can reach the Presidency without being diluted by political flattery.

Yari’s Northern Assignment

Senator Abdulaziz Yari brings considerable political experience to the 2027 campaign.

A former governor of Zamfara State and influential northern politician, he understands the political and socioeconomic realities of the region.

His assignment, however, will be particularly demanding because northern Nigeria remains at the centre of some of the country’s most serious security and economic challenges.

Banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and communal violence have affected communities across parts of the North, while insecurity has simultaneously undermined agriculture, displaced families and weakened local economies.

The result is a political problem for the APC.

The party cannot simply ask northern voters to support Tinubu because of political alliances or regional calculations.

It must demonstrate that the government understands their suffering and has a credible plan to change it.

Yari could therefore play a critical role if he chooses to become the voice that communicates northern frustrations honestly to the Presidency rather than simply the politician responsible for mobilising votes.

Economic Reforms and the Politics of Pain

There is a legitimate argument that the Tinubu administration inherited a deeply troubled economy and that some of its reforms were intended to address structural problems that successive governments had avoided.

The removal of fuel subsidy and foreign-exchange reforms, for example, have been defended by government officials as necessary steps towards fiscal and economic restructuring.

But economic policy cannot be judged solely from government balance sheets.

For ordinary Nigerians, the question is much simpler:

Can I afford to feed my family?

Can I travel to work?

Can I pay rent?

Can my business survive?

Can my children remain in school?

Can I find employment?

These are the questions that will eventually shape electoral behaviour.

The government may point to improving macroeconomic indicators, but if citizens continue to experience economic insecurity, the political message from the grassroots will remain difficult to ignore.

That is why the President needs political figures who will distinguish between economic statistics and economic experience.

Both matter.

The Fear of a Worse Economic Future

Another challenge confronting the administration is the fear among Nigerians that economic hardship could become entrenched.

Even citizens who acknowledge that reforms may be necessary can still legitimately ask how long they are expected to endure the pain before meaningful relief becomes visible.

That question deserves an answer.

Government must be able to explain not only what it is doing, but when Nigerians can reasonably expect the benefits to become tangible.

Without that connection, economic reform risks becoming politically vulnerable.

Yari and other campaign leaders therefore have an important responsibility: they must communicate the administration’s achievements while simultaneously communicating citizens’ frustrations to the President.

A campaign that only celebrates achievements and ignores weaknesses may sound impressive inside political circles but fail to resonate in the streets.

The South-East’s Unresolved Grievances

The South-East presents another complicated dimension of the 2027 equation.

The continued controversy surrounding Nnamdi Kanu and the wider agitation associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra remain deeply sensitive issues in the region.

Supporters of Kanu have demanded his release, while the Federal Government has maintained its position on the legal process surrounding his case.

Whatever one’s position on the matter, it would be politically unrealistic to pretend that the issue does not carry significant emotional weight in parts of the South-East.

The broader question is whether the Federal Government can combine the enforcement of the law with meaningful political engagement capable of addressing legitimate grievances in the region.

For the Tinubu administration, dialogue and reconciliation could potentially help reduce alienation.

For the opposition, however, unresolved grievances provide an opportunity to portray the government as insensitive to regional concerns.

That makes the issue politically significant ahead of 2027.

Nepotism Allegations and the Question of Trust

The administration has also faced accusations of nepotism in appointments and governance.

The Presidency and its supporters have rejected such allegations and maintained that appointments are based on competence and national interest.

Nevertheless, perceptions matter in politics.

A government seeking a second term cannot afford to allow a widespread perception that public appointments are influenced primarily by personal, political, regional or family connections.

The answer is not merely to deny the accusation.

The stronger response is to demonstrate transparency, merit and broad national representation in governance.

Yari, given his political standing, could contribute to this conversation by encouraging the APC to present a national rather than sectional vision of the Tinubu presidency.

Can Yari Become the Truth-Teller?

This may ultimately be Yari’s most important test.

The APC does not necessarily need another politician who can tell the President that everything is going well.

The President already has many people capable of doing that.

What he needs are political actors who can tell him where Nigerians are angry, why they are angry and what government must do differently.

Yari’s political value may therefore lie in his ability to serve as a bridge between the Presidency and the grassroots.

If he listens to northern communities, farmers, traders, young people, traditional institutions, civil society groups and political stakeholders, he can provide the campaign with something more valuable than slogans: a realistic picture of the electorate.

But that will require courage.

It means telling the President when government policies are unpopular.

It means acknowledging failures alongside achievements.

It means resisting the temptation to interpret every criticism as opposition propaganda.

And it means recognising that political loyalty does not require intellectual dishonesty.

2027 Should Be About More Than Winning

The APC’s objective is naturally to retain power.

But the broader national interest requires that the 2027 campaign become a serious conversation about the future of Nigeria.

Tinubu will seek to make the case that his reforms require more time to mature.

The opposition will argue that the administration has failed to adequately protect Nigerians from economic hardship and insecurity.

Both arguments deserve to be tested against evidence.

For the President, however, the first responsibility is to understand the country as it really is — not as political praise singers may wish to portray it.

A president who hears only applause risks being surprised by anger.

A president who hears criticism has an opportunity to correct course.

That is why Yari’s assignment could become much more consequential than the title of Director-General suggests.

If he merely mobilises politicians, he will be another campaign manager.

If he helps the President understand the frustrations of ordinary Nigerians, challenges complacency within the ruling establishment and pushes for practical responses to insecurity, poverty, economic hardship and regional grievances, he could become an important political bridge between the Tinubu administration and the electorate.

Ultimately, the road to the Villa in 2027 will not be paved by praise.

It will be paved by trust, security, economic relief, inclusion and the ability of government to convince Nigerians that their sacrifices are producing a better future.

For President Tinubu, perhaps the most important message from the campaign trail is therefore a simple one:

Listen less to those who say everything is working perfectly — and listen more carefully to Nigerians who are still waiting for things to work.