Former senator and northern rights activist, Shehu Sani, has criticized traditional, religious, and political leaders from Northern Nigeria for failing to improve the living standards of the region’s people.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Sani highlighted how previous leaders neglected the poor, particularly in rural areas.
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Sani emphasized the reluctance of families to educate their children or provide them with vocational training, which he believes has contributed to the rise of banditry and terrorism. “The bandits and terrorists… come from our homes and families up north,” he said, attributing much of the region’s problems to internal failings rather than external forces.
He criticized cultural practices that hinder economic progress, such as discouraging women from working and young people from learning trades. “Many parents in rural areas hand over their children to a religious teacher in the city, who depends on the children to beg or steal in order to feed himself and his family,” Sani stated.
Sani also lamented the region’s voting patterns, which prioritize immediate, superficial gains over long-term development. “We don’t vote for people who will serve us; we vote for those who will provide us with spaghetti and grains,” he remarked.
Highlighting the region’s wasted opportunities, Sani noted the decline of industries in Kano, Kaduna, and Jos, and the collapse of agricultural landmarks like the groundnut and cotton pyramids.
He concluded by asserting that the North’s problems are largely self-inflicted, saying, “In the North; 80 percent of our problems are ourselves and not anyone outside of ourselves.”
