By Suleiman Anyalewechi
“Majority of Northerners support President Tinubu’s second term in office”
Social critic, and former Senator who represented Kaduna Central District, between 2015 and 2019, Shehu Sani, has put the blame for the economic misfortune and backwardness of the Northern region on its past leaders.
This is just as he insisted that the North has no other option than to support President Bola Tinubu and the South West to complete their eight years in the Presidential office.
At an interactive session with the media in Kaduna on Monday June, 2, 2025, Senator Sani also posited that banditry and insecurity did not originate from the present Federal Government .
He berated past leaders of Nigeria of Northern extraction who had several years to uplift the region, but failed and neglected to do so.
According to him, it is ironic, and at the same hypocritical, for such past leaders who failed the North to now turn around to incite the masses against the Tinubu Government.
Senator Sani accused those he described as later day critics of the Government from the North as insincere and noted that their criticisms are borne out of selfishness.
According to him, most of the antagonists of President Tinubu from the North are those who are bitter over their exclusion from the system.
He, however, noted that despite the orchestrated noise from some isolated quarters, overwhelming majority of the people in the North are satisfied and happy with the progress so far made by the present administration,under President Tinubu.
He called on the people to ignore “the rantings” of few bitter loud emergency critics, and queue behind the President for his second term ambition.
“For most of us from the North, we appreciate the progress made so far by the present Federal Government of Nigeria in addressing the challenges facing the people.
“Many of the later day critics had the opportunity to better the lots of the region and its people, but failed and or neglected to do so.
“Now because they are not part of the system, they have suddenly turned into critics. For me, they should not just keep quiet and bury their heads in shame, but also apologize to the masses of the North for deceiving and cheating them.
“For the masses themselves, my sincere advise is that they should not allow frustrated and disenchanted political actors, only driven by their personal interests to instigate them against a Government that is, from all intents and purposes, sincere in its quest to move the country forward.
“Besides, they should not allow anybody to incite them against the President who for eight years supported one of their own.
“Although I have heard a lot of comments and remarks that are linked to tribal sentiments and all that, let us, however, put it a proper perspective.
The North West of the country has produced two Presidents since 1999. One was late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the second was Muhammadu Buhari.
“And in all these elections ,the South West part of Nigeria supported the North,and never gave any serious challenge as long as the smooth running of the Governments were concerned.
“So it is only logical that we allow the South to complete their eight years in power for peace ,unity and survival of our democracy.
“Even if there should be another Presidential candidate from the opposition, that candidate should be from the South West because that is in line with the principles equity, justice and fairness.
“Nigeria is not just a country, it is a country that came from horrible and terrible experiences as a nation. And we ought to learn from our past experiences in order not to repeat the same experience.
“Do l 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.
“Today, such elements are crying foul for no reason other than that they have been excluded from Government. Their grievances revolve around their personal interests and not about the people; not about the North; not about the masses; not about insecurity and good governance”, Sani stated.
Sani, also, noted that terrorism and insecurity predated the present administration.
According to him, it will amount to the height of insincerity and hypocrisy for anybody to blame the security challenges being faced by the North on President Tinubu.
“Under the last administration ,all the security apparatus of the country were in the hands of Northerners. They never stopped banditry in the Northwest; they never stopped killings in Benue and Plateau states and most parts of the North Central.
“We need to be very factual about it. Even most of the positions at NDA today are being held by Northerners.
“The region is occupying strategic Ministries as Ministers, including key Defence portfolios, yet the insecurity in the North is not over.
“Bandits are still killing people, they are still kidnapping people in Katsina, Zamfara and other states of the region.
“However, if we should compare the situation from where we were coming from, my sincere view is that things are better as at today”, he noted.
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