Is Arewa House becoming our own Chatham?

By John Eche

Like Chatham House in the UK which plays host to high profile political dialogue sessions ahead of elections, the Arewa House in Kaduna is taking an even more visible role as a to go place for many a presidential political hopeful in Nigeria.

In October, it hosted Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi and now it is the turn of former Lagos Governor and South west All Progressives Congress, APC strongman, Aswaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

While Fayemi spoke to the subject of the restructuring of the federation even as the North marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the House, which is formally called the Centre for Historical Documentation and Research, Tinubu’s brief this time around has been to interrogate issues of governance, job creation and economic management.

Specifically, the Tinubu appearance was at the opening of the 2021 annual Arewa House Lectures, and his talk was on the “Reduction of the Cost of Governance for Inclusive Growth and Youth Development in Northern Nigeria in a Post- COVID-19 era”.

Both Tinubu and Fayemi are believed to be some of the initial contenders for the forthcoming 2021 presidential polls on the APC platform.

Observers however say that their appearances are indeed more than the talk as the Arewa House sessions are increasingly being seen as part of the sifting process for leadership selection and influencing of the future political direction of the country by notable power interests in the North of Nigeria.

Arewa House, Kaduna