By Uzair Adam
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has said political leaders from northern Nigeria have failed the region and should collectively apologise to the people for decades of underdevelopment and neglect.
Speaking during an interview with Trust TV, Sani stressed that criticism of government policies should be driven by the genuine interest of the people and not by political ambition.
“Every democracy must allow criticism, but it must be constructive, and in the interest of the Nigerian people. That’s what we did as activists — not because we wanted power,” he said.
He noted that those who have held public office in the last two decades — including himself — bear responsibility for the challenges facing the region.
“Anyone who is from northern Nigeria and held a political office in the last 20 years, we all need to look at ourselves in the mirror and apologise to the people of northern Nigeria. We let them down,” he admitted.
Reflecting on his own time in office, the governor said the region’s problems stem from long-standing structural and economic neglect.
“I’ll say it here today — all of us; I was a senator in this country, and the problems of northern Nigeria didn’t start two years ago,” he added.
Sani also criticised the outcomes of the massive social intervention programmes under former president Muhammadu Buhari, saying they failed to uplift the region due to deep-rooted financial exclusion.
“Buhari spent hundreds of billions on social interventions,” he said. “But the North became poorer even after that because 70% of the population, especially the masses, were completely financially excluded.”
He pointed out that anyone who had served as a senator, minister, governor, or vice-president from the region over the past 20 years shares in the blame.
The governor cautioned politicians against misleading the public and lauded honest critics who maintain integrity and a people-first approach.
“We must not deceive the people of northern Nigeria. We must not mislead them. I’ve no problem with people criticising the government — people like Dan Bello Galadanchi.
“Those individuals have the moral right to speak. But those who contributed to the rot and now claim to have repented — I think that’s wrong,” he said.
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University of Cologne
Blog: www.muhsin.in