Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has declared that the North’s current underdevelopment is a direct result of the refusal by Northern leaders to challenge the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the outspoken lawmaker criticised Northern elites for failing to hold Buhari accountable during his presidency, despite the mounting insecurity, poverty, and alarming number of out-of-school children in the region.
“When Buhari was the president of this country, many in the North were silent,” Sani stated. “Even when I stood up in the Senate to raise issues about insecurity and the killings of my people, the first serious opposition I faced came from Northern senators themselves.”
According to Sani, the culture of silence stemmed from a misplaced loyalty to Buhari based on regional ties. “You were expected to be quiet, to enable the system to remain silent, simply because the president came from your region,” he lamented.
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He said that anyone who dared to speak up was accused of tarnishing the image of the Northern presidency, regardless of the devastating realities on the ground.
Sani, who often voiced dissent while serving in the National Assembly, stressed that this refusal to speak truth to power had serious consequences: “Our refusal to speak the truth to the Buhari regime, our refusal to tell him where he was wrong, led the North to where it is today.”
Drawing comparisons with the Southwest, the former senator noted that people from that region are unafraid to challenge President Bola Tinubu, despite their shared background. “In the Southwest, people criticise Tinubu and speak the truth. That’s what we lack in the North,” he said.
He urged Northern elites to discard the tradition of blind loyalty and nepotism, and instead prioritise truth, accountability, and regional progress for a better Nigeria.
