Former Kaduna Central senator Shehu Sani has accused some northern leaders of applying double standards to insecurity, alleging that many who now criticise President Bola Tinubu remained silent when banditry and mass abductions escalated under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Sani, who is seeking a return to the Senate, said the failure to hold the previous administration accountable had weakened efforts to address the security crisis.
In an interview published by the Nigerian Tribune, the former lawmaker said northern politicians and public figures had been vocal in criticising former President Goodluck Jonathan over insecurity but became less outspoken when Buhari, a retired army general from the North, assumed office.
He cited the abductions of schoolchildren in Dapchi, Jangebe, Kagara and Yauri, as well as attacks on Greenfield University and Bethel Baptist School, during Buhari’s administration.
According to Sani, many northern leaders failed to condemn the attacks because the president and several senior security officials were from their region.
“Nobody says Tinubu has solved all security problems in Nigeria,” he said, acknowledging that kidnappings, terrorism and banditry remained serious challenges. However, he argued that critics should apply the same standards to successive administrations rather than exploit insecurity for political purposes.
Sani also defended the principle of rotational presidency, arguing that the South should complete its turn before power returns to the North.
He said the North should respect the arrangement after Buhari’s eight years in office, warning that disrupting the rotation could fuel agitation in different parts of the country.
The former senator expressed confidence that Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election, arguing that a return to the North in 2031 would be more consistent with the rotational arrangement.
He also claimed that the Tinubu administration had revived major projects, including the Mambilla hydroelectric power project, the Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill and the Kaduna-Abuja-Kano road, which he said Buhari failed to complete during his eight-year tenure.
On his Senate ambition, Sani said he wanted to provide stronger representation for Kaduna Central and attract more federal projects to the constituency.
He said his previous tenure produced interventions in primary healthcare, education, scholarships, women’s empowerment and community development, adding that a better working relationship with Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and the President could help him deliver more if elected.
Sani also criticised the administration of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, accusing it of dismissing workers, demolishing homes and detaining critics. He cited the arrests and prosecutions of journalists and other individuals as examples of what he described as disregard for civil liberties.
He said representation in Kaduna Central required sensitivity to its religious and ethnic diversity, noting that Christians and Muslims made up substantial proportions of the constituency.
Sani maintained that politicians should focus on credible alternatives and practical solutions rather than exploiting religious, ethnic and regional divisions for electoral advantage.
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