2027: Disrupting Rotational Presidency Will Revive Biafra, Yoruba Nation Agitations — Shehu Sani Warns Northern Politicians

Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has renewed his warning that attempts by northern politicians to reclaim the presidency in 2027 could reignite separatist agitations in 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 arrangement could threaten national unity and political stability.

The former lawmaker, who is seeking a return to the Senate to represent Kaduna Central, spoke during an interview with select journalists in Kaduna on Friday.

He said northern politicians should pursue their presidential ambition in 2031 rather than seek to reclaim the office in 2027.

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

He argued that the prospect of people from different regions contesting the presidency had helped reduce separatist agitations in southern Nigeria.

“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 added that agitations for a Yoruba republic and a Niger Delta republic had also declined, warning that disrupting power rotation could reverse the trend.

He questioned how any president could govern effectively if substantial sections of the country felt they had been denied their expected opportunity to lead.

“The principle of rotation of power makes it clear that Buhari has been in power for eight years. It is only logical and rational that you have a southerner,” he said, noting that former President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, spent eight years in office between 2015 and 2023.

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

Insecurity Not For Ethnic Politics

On insecurity, Sani acknowledged that the Tinubu administration continues to face serious challenges but accused some northern political leaders of applying double standards.

He argued that those criticising 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 the abductions in Dapchi, Kankara, Jangebe and Yauri, as well as the kidnapping of students from Greenfield University in Kaduna State.

“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,” he said.

He stressed the need for effective legislative representation to address the North’s security, healthcare, education and poverty challenges, citing his record of facilitating seven to eight primary healthcare facilities, scholarships and women empowerment programmes during his tenure.

Tinubu, a southerner, assumed office on May 29, 2023, after Buhari completed two terms.