Politics
Insecurity: How Buhari was deceived – Shehu Sani
The immediate past senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Senator Shehu Sani, has revealed how President Muhammadu Buhari’s friends deceived him about the state of insecurity in the country.
Sani who spoke exclusively with Sunday Sun in Abuja, said that the deception by the president’s allies led to the current state of insecurity in the North, particularly in Kaduna State where bandits now unleash evil, kill and spill blood of innocent people.
The activist and public commentator while saying that Nigeria is moving towards a failed state, maintained that if kidnapping, banditry, farmers-herders crisis continue across the country, the nation would certainly be heading for anarchy. Excerpt:
Looking back, how would you assess your outing during the 8th Senate?
The 8th Senate has gone down in history as one of the most independent, principled, dogged, reformist and revolutional National Assembly that has performed its function without fear or favour; that has been able to hold the executive to account and gave courage and hope to Nigerians. It was a Senate that defended democracy, that defended the sanctity of the parliament and the independence of the parliament. The parliament is the bastion of democracy. Without the parliament, you simply have a dictatorship. When you have a subservient parliament, you will have the whole democratic process surrendered into the hands of one man. Man is tempted to be dictatorial, to be oppressive when given the levers of power and the National Assembly or the parliament stands as a break, as a check and also as a filter. The most dangerous thing as a nation is to have a National Assembly that is docile and dormant and one that has completely no focus other than what the president of a country wants them to do. So, as far as we are concerned, the four years of the National Assembly under the leadership of former Senate President Bukola Saraki was the full expression of democracy at its best in Nigeria.
Was that why the 8th Senate was always at loggerheads with the executive?
Well, the parliament is not a parastatal of the executive. It is also not a department or a unit of the executive. And the people in the parliament are not presidential aides or ministers. They are co-equal, elected into the government to perform the functions that are clearly stated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In Nigeria’s political parlance, people are subservient to the president when they are in government, while the constitution is supposed to be the guiding principle. It is supposed to be the priest and the oracle of the nation that can be consulted to address the problems of the country. If the executive veers off from what the constitution mandated it to do, it is in order to be at loggerheads. I like being at loggerheads with people who are intoxicated with power and try to oppress, marginalised or subvert or undermine the constitution of the country. So, it is good for the executive to even know that we can be on collusion course, at loggerheads with them when they try anything that undermines the constitution of the country which we all belong.
What is your take on the 9th Senate?
As far as the 9th Senate is concerned, they will be judged by the people. I am not to judge them. It is the people that judge them and now, you can see that the people are the ones who are judging us whether what we did was right or wrong; whether we did well or we didn’t do well. So, it is the people that will judge you. But there are standards to which you will be judged. The first is that how do you relate with the executive and at the same time, defend and protect your independence as an organ of government? How do you relate with the executive as far as protecting and defending the constitution of the country is concerned? How do you relate with the executive, putting into standard, the interest, the wishes and aspirations of the people? When you have an executive that consistently breaches on the constitution and you don’t confront them and bring them to order, you are bound to lose your integrity, honour and dignity. If you have an executive that implements unpopular policies and have no respect for the constitution of the country or the parliament of the country and you simply fold your arms and see the nation adrift, then it is your reputation that is at stake. So, the people will judge the 9th Senate based on the standards of democracy, the independence of the parliament and the sacrosanctity of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
But can’t there be a healthy relationship between the legislative and the executive arms of government, while also maintaining their independence?
Healthy relationship is that everyone should respect the constitution. If the constitution is violated by the executive and in the interest of peace and harmony, you decided to keep quiet, then it is not healthy. It is poisonous; it is destructive to the constitution of the country and even the democracy itself.
If given another chance, are there mistakes you made while in the 8th Senate which you would like to correct?
I don’t think that there are any mistakes I have made that I think that now… I think what would only be more exact is that I would do more than I have done in the past in everything I have done.
What about the loan request by Governor Nasir el-Rufai which was to have impact on the people, which did not see the light of the day during your time in the Senate? Don’t you see that as a mistake?
It is not a mistake. It is the right thing to do and I have done it as fully as I should do it.
So, there is no regret?
I can never regret in what I have used my right senses to do. It is the right thing to do.
Your problem with el-Rufai, don’t you have any regret?
No, at all. I can never regret it.
Some people were taken aback that both of you who are intellectually inclined, were always at each other’s throat. What is your reaction to that?
I don’t think I have been on any person’s throat. And I don’t think anybody is in my throat, and if any person thinks I am in his throat, I think that is his own business. I am done with it, and I have left the Senate and he is the governor of Kaduna State and he presides over the affairs of Kaduna State and I preside over the affairs of my office and when the time of politicking comes certainly, we make our views known.
Any hope of reconciliation between you and the governor?
We are in different political parties, so which reconciliation are you talking about? I am in Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and they are in APC. So, I am not aware that there is going to be a merger between PRP and APC.
On a personal level, will you reconcile with the governor?
My problem is not personal. It is political and I’m done with it, and he is the governor and I am the former senator and I am off. I have no reason to raise issues about him. The people voted him into office and what he wants to do, he does it, and it is only when a person calls my name personally, then I have the right to make sure that before his mouth closes, I respond to it.
Have you foreclosed your going back to APC?
Well, I don’t know what could happen tomorrow. But for the moment which we are talking about now, I am in Peoples Redemption Party and the chairman of my party has just left this office and he is coming back later before you leave.
Since you are someone who loves the masses, why didn’t you throw away ego and defer to el-Rufai for the good of the people?
If you know my history, my history did not begin from the APC. I have always been an activist and I have always expressed my opinion in the last 35 years in the struggle. So, when I expressed my opinion, it is part of my conviction, it is part of my principle and part of my ideology. I have always expressed my opinion before being a senator and I am known to be an activist and well as a senator, I have also expressed my independent opinion and after being a senator, I am still expressing my opinion. So, my world did not begin and end with the ruling party, the APC or any person who is part of that political party.
Banditry, kidnapping, farmers-herders crisis are ravaging the country and Kaduna is at the receiving end also. How can this be nipped in the bud in the state?
Seriously, in Kaduna, we need help. Bandits are unleashing evil, killing people and spilling blood of innocent people in our state. Many parts of our rural areas are under the control of bandits. Even people living at the outskirts of the city itself, they are not safe. Families have been displaced in millions; millions of naira have been paid as ransom and there is an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. Bandits have become a state within a state. Today, there are local governments in my state where the people there are suffering and they are paying heavy price for this banditry. These bandits kill people, extort ransom, rape women, raze villages, and make it impossible for farmers to go to their farms. We are virtually under siege and Kaduna is one of the top five states in the North today that are under the siege of these bandits. And it is important that the Federal Government, the security agencies, stand up to their responsibility and protect our people from this disaster and tragedy.
How did Kaduna find itself in this situation?
I think President Muhammdu Buhari has been made to believe that we were his enemies in the last Senate when we were raising issues of banditry, kidnapping, bloodletting and violence. Time and again, I stood on the floor of the Senate to bring to the attention of the president and the conscience of the country, the killings in Kaduna, in Zamfara, in parts of Katsina State and Niger State. But many of the ppresident’s friends dismissed what we have said as either exaggeration or outright lies or we were simply trying to tarnish or rubbish the image of the government. And as such, Buhari’s friends gave Buhari wrong information about the state of security in northern Nigeria and he was made to believe that things are well and he is doing good and that it is not as tragic as we are portraying it to be. Today, the cart has become a monster. Our country is now beleaguered and bewailed because of the activities of these bandits. Kaduna happens to be surrounded by states that are deeply into this banditry – Niger, to Zamfara, to Katsina State. So, we are almost at the epicentre of it. And the banditry used to be in Birnin Gwari Local Government, but now, it has moved to Chikun, to Kajuru, to Igabi Local Governments and even bandits now storm houses in Zaria and pick professors and take them to the bush. This is how banditry has become. As for the Southern Kaduna, it is a different case. Herdsmen and bandits sneak around to kill people and if we don’t do anything about it, this is seriously not only about the havoc it is creating in rural communities, but it is also threatening the peace, order, stability and unity of Nigeria.
Where do you situate the problem of Southern Kaduna?
The problem of Southern Kaduna is both historic and also political. First of all, that part of the state is treated as a minority part of the state and it is the Christian part of the state. And the issues of marginalisation against the people of that part of the state are true. Many people in that state don’t consider them as full-blood indigenes and citizens of that state and they have been treated with contempt and treated as if they are second class citizens of the state. And because of that, it created a feeling of hostility which now metamorphosed into conflicts. When we were young, when we were children, we grew up in a society where those of us from northern part and those from southern part, we attended the same class and we prayed together. They are Christians and we are Moslems and during Christmas time, they take food to us and during Sallah time, we take food to them. Many of the primary schools in Kaduna were built by the Catholics, the Baptists, and the ECWAs for generations and were all living together. But in the last 40 years, there were ethno-religious conflicts that dragged on to the 21st Century. And politically, you can see how they have also been marginalised. The chances of someone from Southern Kaduna becoming or holding any serious position as far as things are concerned now are very low. So, there is an institutionalised injustice and political injustice perpetrated against those people which need to be corrected.
But do you see the kidnapping, banditry, farmers-herders crisis and the Southern Kaduna crisis abating soon?
Nothing has been done seriously now to say that it is abating because people are still being killed, people are still being kidnapped and the bandits are moving in group of hundreds, two hundreds on motorcycles, wielding AK-47 and you can even see that recently, they even attacked a military garrison in Katsina State. And they are becoming so audacious and fierce and more violent than they have ever been. So, it is time I think we should use technology to deal with them.
Where do you think all these issues are leading us to?
If we want to keep this country one, if we want to protect and preserve our dignity as a people, we must take the security challenge very seriously. You can see how the herdsmen violence in the Southwest has now threatened the political solidarity and the unity that exists between the North and the South. If these killings continue certainly, we would be heading for anarchy. Bandits, herdsmen and terrorists have become a state within a state and our security apparatus has failed consistently in exploiting, in using technology to gather information and deal with these bandits. What are the symptoms of a failing state? One of the symptoms of a failing state is the loss of control of the government and its inability to use state apparatus to enforce law and protect and defend territories and also ensure that impunity does not have a breathing space. So, if you look at it, we are heading towards a failed state. It is incumbent on a president of a country to stand up, to protect this country, to defend this country because that was the promise they made for which Nigerians voted them in 2015.
What is your next political move?
My next political move will be evident by God’s grace as the time goes by. For now, we will watch events. And I come from a very small political party, but we are still having some of our members in the parliament. So, whatever may happen tomorrow will be left for the realities of tomorrow.
Tags: insecurityKaduna Central Senatorial Districtpresident muhammadu buharisenator shehu saniwas deceived
Former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has dismissed suggestions that his exit from the African Democratic Congress has created a damaging split in the opposition.
He said he and Atiku Abubakar may yet work together before the 2027 general election.
Kwankwaso spoke in an interview on Arise TV on Monday, responding to concerns that his move to the Nigeria Democratic Congress alongside Peter Obi had effectively divided the opposition into two competing blocs ahead of the polls.
“Now, we may still work together before the election. I personally, and I think even Obi himself, decided to leave ADC not because we are fighting with Atiku or anybody there. We decided to leave that party because we realised that there are some issues,” he said
He said the ADC was contending with three major unresolved problems that he believed would make it difficult for the party to field candidates, without specifying what those issues were.
“Whether they will be able to field candidates in that party or not is just a matter of time. It’s not like we had a primary election,” he said
The remarks come after Atiku recently claimed on Arise TV that Kwankwaso’s popularity was confined to Kano State and further divided there by Governor Abba Yusuf.
Atiku, who is seeking the presidency on the ADC platform, also described himself as the most popular politician of northern extraction, saying none of his contemporaries, including Kwankwaso, Aminu Tambuwal and Nasir El-Rufai, commanded a voter base across the North as wide as his.
Kwankwaso did not engage the slight directly, but made clear he bore no grudge.
“Politics is just like a game. I’m not fighting anybody and I’m not expecting anybody to fight me. I have no issue with that. I think we are past that level now,” he said.
He challenged those predicting a vote split in Kano to wait for the election result before drawing conclusions.
“Let’s wait for the election and see whether votes are split in Kano or not,” he said.
Kwankwaso also acknowledged a history of working with Atiku, recalling that he served as the former vice president’s northern coordinator during the 2019 presidential election.
“There was an election in 2019 in Port Harcourt. He won the election. I was his coordinator for the north. We worked for him,” he said.
He traced his broader relationship with Atiku to the 2015 APC presidential primary in Lagos, where he placed second behind Muhammadu Buhari, with Atiku third.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The Anambra State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expelled 30 members of the party for instituting legal actions against the party.
The affected members include some aspirants for the National Assembly, and their expulsion may disqualify them from participating in the party’s primary elections.
Disclosing this shortly after the meeting of the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the party, the State Publicity Secretary, Dr. Sir Valentine Iyiegbu, told reporters that the decision was in line with Section 21, Subsection 5 of the party’s constitution.
“The party discussed those who took the party to court, and many of them are contesting for the House of Representatives tickets of the party,” he said.
“The matter comes up tomorrow, and the SEC stated that what the party constitution stipulates would be followed, which is outright expulsion from the party under Article 21, Subsection 5.”
“The SEC actually ratified their expulsion because they did not exhaust all the internal avenues provided by the party to resolve their grievances,” he added.
Iyiegbu noted that the only reprieve available to the expelled members would be for them to withdraw their court cases.
“It is only when the matters are withdrawn from the court that the party can consider listening to them,” he said.
Speaking on the party’s primary elections, he explained:
“In the case of those contesting for the tickets of the Federal House of Representatives, all the eleven positions have aspirants, while for the Senate, the three positions are also being contested. The screening committees were here to perform their duties,” he noted.
The party also ratified the appointment of a five-man Primary Elections Committee headed by Sir Izuchukwu Okeke, the State Organising Secretary of the party.
By PETRUS OBI
Frontline aspirant for the Aninri/Awgu/Oji-River Federal Constituency seat, Anayo Onwuegbu, has successfully completed the screening exercise conducted by the All Progressives Congress House of Representatives screening panel in Abuja ahead of the party primaries scheduled for Friday, May 15, 2026.
Speaking after the exercise, Onwuegbu expressed satisfaction with the screening process, describing it as a reflection of the party’s commitment to internal democracy, transparency, and credible leadership selection ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The aspirant, who is seeking to represent Aninri/Awgu/Oji-River Federal Constituency under the platform of the APC, stated that he remains focused and prepared to continue to offer quality representation to the people of the constituency.
According to him, “The process once again highlights our party’s commitment to internal democracy, transparency, and the emergence of credible leadership as we prepare for the 2027 general elections.”
He reaffirmed his dedication to the development of the constituency, pledging to serve the people with commitment and purpose if elected.
The APC House of Representatives primaries are expected to hold nationwide on Friday as aspirants battle for the party’s tickets ahead of the 2027 elections.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
Ten communities that make up Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State are set for a showdown with their traditional rulers following the alleged suspension of the zoning arrangement for the Anambra State House of Assembly elections.
Recall that on April 7, 2022, the traditional rulers, in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), resolved that the House of Assembly seats for Anaocha I and Anaocha II constituencies would rotate among the ten communities, with each town occupying the seat for two terms.
The traditional rulers further resolved that the rotation would subsist irrespective of the political party through which lawmakers emerge, noting that the arrangement was aimed at ensuring that all ten communities have the opportunity to produce members of the State Assembly in the interest of equity and fairness.
However, the Anaocha Equity Forum, shortly after its meeting, expressed concern over the alleged suspension of the zoning arrangement.
Speaking, the Convener of the Anaocha Equity Forum, Mr. Valentine Okoye, said the forum would not take kindly to what it described as acts capable of destabilising the council area, adding that any such move would be resisted.
“This is a Memorandum of Understanding signed by our traditional rulers, and it has been respected until now. We in the Anaocha Equity Forum see this as a slap on the sensibilities of the ten communities that make up the area,” he said.
“We urge members of the public, political parties, and stakeholders to disregard the alleged position of the traditional rulers, as it does not represent the views and aspirations of our people.
“Our traditional rulers should be mindful of their roles as fathers of their respective communities. They should also understand that they would be held responsible for whatever backlash or consequences may arise from this recent position.
“We call on Governor Charles Soludo to call the traditional rulers to order so that the peace currently enjoyed in Anaocha Local Government Area will not be disrupted,” he stated.
The exit of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, two prominent opposition figures, has weakened the African Democratic Congress across both chambers of the National Assembly.
The National Democratic Congress, which received Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso on Sunday, recorded its biggest gains on Tuesday with the addition of 17 House members and a senator. Weeks earlier, its ranks expanded when Seriake Dickson, representing Bayelsa West, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to join the party.
The development comes a few days after several opposition parties resolved to present a single presidential candidate against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
The wave of defection to the NDC occurred 48 hours after Obi and Kwankwaso, two of the ADC’s most prominent figures, formally exited the party. These moves have significantly altered the opposition landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections, setting the stage for shifting political alliances.
Additionally, the latest defectors, drawn from Kano, Anambra, Lagos, Edo, Rivers, and Kogi States, cited internal disarray within the ADC as a major factor that influenced their decision.
While reading their letters on the floor of the House, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the plenary session, said the lawmakers blamed the party’s instability for their departure, noting that the crisis remained “unresolved starting from the ward to the national level.”
The defectors to the NDC are Yusuf Datti, Sani Adamu, Zakari Mukhtari, Kamilu Ado, Harris Okonkwo, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Peter Anekwe, Emeka Idu, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, and Afam Ogene. Others include Lagos lawmakers Thaddeus Attah, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, George Olwande, and Jese Onuakalusi, as well as Murphy Omroruyi from Edo and Umezuruike Manuchim from Rivers State.
In a separate move, Kogi lawmaker Leke Abejide defected from the ADC to the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The coordinated nature of the defections is widely interpreted as a show of loyalty to Obi and Kwankwaso, whose switch to the NDC is already reshaping opposition dynamics.
Both men are influential political figures with strong regional bases—Obi in the South-East and Kwankwaso in the North-West—and their exit from the ADC appears to have triggered a ripple effect among lawmakers aligned with their political structures.
The ADC’s current troubles did not emerge overnight. In recent months, tensions within the party escalated over leadership struggles, strategy disagreements, and competing ambitions among top figures.
The situation worsened amid reports of irreconcilable differences between Obi, Kwankwaso, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was also a central figure in opposition coalition talks.
Efforts to build a united front ahead of 2027 reportedly broke down due to mistrust, zoning disagreements, and control of party structures.
Their eventual defection to the NDC marked a turning point. Seen as a more viable platform for consolidating opposition strength, the NDC quickly became a magnet for lawmakers and political actors seeking stability and clearer leadership direction.
With the departure of key figures and a steady decline in its legislative strength, the ADC now faces a daunting struggle to maintain political relevance.
The loss of national figures like Obi and Kwankwaso, combined with the defection of lawmakers across multiple states, appears to have weakened its structure and electoral prospects.
Only last week, the party boasted 24 members of the House of Representatives, but it is now left with six.
Once the dominant opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party may equally struggle to retain its status.
Though still officially the most formidable opposition in the House, the PDP currently has 29 members in the Green Chamber, down from 116 members in its ranks at the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June 2023.
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