…says northerners failed to develop the region
Former Senator for Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has criticised past northern leaders who once held power at the national level but failed to transform the region into a hub of socioeconomic development.
Speaking to journalists at his Kaduna residence on Monday, Sani refrained from naming individuals but described such leaders as disgruntled politicians now excluded from the current administration and attempting to stir public unrest against the government.
Despite his criticism, the former lawmaker commended the progress made under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership and called on Northerners to rally behind the President ahead of the 2027 elections.
“For those of us from this part (North) of the country, we appreciate the progress made so far by this present government and for those of them who had the opportunity to do better and they failed, we tell them that it is better they are apologise for the wrong they have done to the people of the North.
“And for the masses of the north, they should not allow themselves to be incited against a government that is doing far better than the one that came from their side, they should not be incited against the President who had supported our own for eight years in power. I have heard a lot of comments and remarks that are linked to tribal sentiments.
“But let’s put it in a better perspective, the Northwest of the country has produced two Presidents since 1999. One was President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, and the second was President Muhammadu Buhari. And in all these elections, the Southwest part of Nigeria had supported the North and never gave any serious challenge as long as the smooth running of President Buhari was concerned.
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“So it is only logical that we allow the South to complete their eight years in power for the peace, unity and for the survival of our democracy. And even if there should be another presidential candidate from the opposition, that candidate should be from the southwest because that is equity, justice, and that is fairness.
“Nigeria is not just a country, it is a country that came from horrible experiences as a nation. And we ought to learn from our past experiences in order not to repeat the same experience. So I want to call on the people to caution the elements who had the opportunity to turn the North into a paradise but left it as a hell, but today, such elements are crying foul for no reason other than that they have been excluded from the government.
So their grievances are about their own personal interests and not about the people, not about the North, not about the masses, not about insecurity and governance. However, everybody has the right to voice out their opinions, but it shouldn’t be done in such a way as to burn down the country.
“Under the last administration, all the security apparatuses were of northern extraction, they never stopped terrorism in the North, they never stopped banditry in the Northwest, they never stopped killings in Benue State, in Plateau, and most of the North Central States. We need to be very factual about it. Most of the positions of authority and in NDA today, key positions are still held by Northerners, Ministry of foreign affairs is a Northerner from Bauchi State that is heading it, the same thing with ministry offers health, minister of Defence and minister of State for defence are Northerners, Minister of Transport is still a Northerner that is in power, minister of environment is Northerner, minister of Agriculture and minister of State for Agriculture are all Northerners, a ministry has been created for Livestocks and is headed by a Northerner, minister of State for work is a Northerner, Chief of Defence Staff is a Northerner and for us in the Northern part of the country we are very much glad particularly the people from Kaduna State.
“The insecurity in the North is not yet over. Bandits are still killing people, they are kidnapping people in Katsina State, and they are still doing that in Zamfara State. There are major killings on the roads by bandits. But if we are going to compare it to where we are coming from, I think things are better. The Chief of Defence has relatively been able to bring peace to the southern part of Kaduna, which was neglected and abandoned when Governor Nasir El-Rufai was in power. We know the Birnin Gwari road; it used to be the road that was inaccessible because of banditry.
“Banditry happened every hour, not every day, for eight years along Birnin Gwari road. Now people can travel day and night. When was the last time you heard an attack since the attack on Kuriga School? When was the last time you heard of an attack on any school in the State? So for those of us when you compare the government headed by someone who came from our own part of the country and the government headed by someone who is not from our own part of the country, I think it is important for those of us from the North to appreciate the relative progress they have made.
“For those of us from Kaduna State, we are beneficiaries of a medical centre and a federal university in southern Kaduna. There is increasing funding for the road project from Kaduna to Abuja. We have seen many things that were brought in, and we only demand more. But my message is also to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that more should be done in terms of addressing challenges in the Northern part of Nigeria, and critics should be listened to, and where there is a lie, it should be responded to. And this country will be great if there is development in all parts of Nigeria,” Shehu Sani said.