Shehu Sani warns north against seeking power in 2027

Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has warned that any attempt by northern politicians to reclaim the presidency in 2027 could reignite separatist agitations across the South-East, South-West, and South-South.

Sani urged the North to allow President Bola Tinubu to complete the South’s turn under the informal power rotation arrangement, arguing that disrupting the structure would threaten national unity and political stability.

The former lawmaker, who is seeking a return to the Senate to represent Kaduna Central, stated that northern politicians should wait until 2031 to pursue their presidential ambitions.

Speaking during an interview with journalists in Kaduna on Friday, Sani noted that the expectation of equitable power rotation had significantly reduced regional separatist agitations.

“The danger of disrupting this rotational idea is the fact that whatever you are doing to Tinubu for ethnic reasons, Tinubu must go.

“Today, if you look at it, the agitation for Biafra has gone to the lowest point because they are hopeful that one of their own is contesting the presidency of this country,” he said.

Sani observed that agitations for a Yoruba republic and Niger Delta autonomy had similarly ebbed, warning that abandoning the power rotation model would reverse those gains.

He questioned how any president could effectively govern if large sections of the country felt excluded from the nation’s leadership.

The former senator maintained that the North lacked any compelling justification to demand an immediate return to power, noting that former President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, held office for eight years from 2015 to 2023.

“The principle of rotation of power makes it clear that Buhari has been in power for eight years, so it is only logical and rational that you have a southerner,” Sani said.

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He also questioned the political arguments surrounding former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition, recalling his previous contests against former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari.

On insecurity, Sani acknowledged that the Tinubu administration continues to face serious security challenges but accused some northern political leaders of applying double standards in evaluating the current and previous administrations.

He argued that leaders criticizing Tinubu over insecurity should also account for the record of the Buhari administration, under which banditry, terrorism, mass abductions, and attacks on schools persisted.

Sani cited mass abductions in Dapchi, Kankara, Jangebe, and Yauri, as well as the kidnapping of students from Greenfield University in Kaduna State, as examples of security failures under the previous government.

“We cannot address security challenges in the country when we shielded our own who failed to address the problem, and now shift blame and use it for political reasons to achieve certain political ends,” Sani stated.

Addressing legislative representation, the former senator stressed that Kaduna State requires experienced lawmakers capable of attracting federal projects and articulating the needs of their constituents.

Citing his record in the 8th Senate, Sani said he facilitated the construction of primary healthcare facilities, educational scholarships, and empowerment programmes during his tenure.

He added that Kaduna’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious composition requires leaders who can unite communities rather than exploit religious and ethnic fault lines for electoral gain.

Sani expressed confidence in his party’s prospects in Kaduna State, asserting that local political dynamics differ from other northern states where ethnic and religious sentiments dominate political mobilization.