A former federal lawmaker, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the Eighth National Assembly, Shehu Sani, has called on President Bola Tinubu to prioritize competence in his appointments.
Sani, speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s “Sunday Politics,” cautioned President Tinubu against repeating the mistakes of his immediate predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari. He criticized Buhari’s eight-year administration, from May 2015 to May 2023, for its high level of nepotism, which he claimed did not yield positive results in governance, particularly in security, economy, education, and healthcare.
“I will advise President Tinubu to be careful not to make the mistakes of President Buhari, and I believe he is experienced to understand this. Under President Buhari, you have ministers that were appointed into office for the whole of eight years; they were with him for the first tenure and the second tenure, and there was no cabinet reshuffle, no removal. Even if there was a removal, it takes three to four months to replace a minister. That was the way the country was governed,” Sani stated.
“Under Buhari, we have seen nepotism at its peak where people were appointed into office and left there even if they did nothing. Service chiefs were retained in office despite their failures, and by retaining them, you destroyed the careers of those behind them. For many years, many officers were retired to appoint one person.”
Sani emphasized that if Tinubu is interested in achieving results, competence should be the primary criterion for appointments. “If this country has to move forward, we must treat the issue of competency as the qualification for appointment,” he said.
Recently, some of Tinubu’s appointments have faced criticism for being lopsided. Tinubu, who took over from Buhari on May 29, 2023, appointed 48 ministers last August. Since then, one minister resigned to join the Senate last December, and another was suspended in January.
Sani further highlighted the deteriorating security situation in northern Nigeria as evidence of the failure of political leaders from the region to use their power effectively. “What has all these powers been used for? It has not been used for the benefit of our people for a very long time,” Sani remarked.
He condemned the recent suicide bombings in Borno State, attributing them to Boko Haram insurgents and warning of the need for vigilance. Despite having numerous service chiefs from the north over the past decade, Sani noted that terrorism, banditry, illegal mining, and kidnapping-for-ransom remain prevalent in the region.
“The expectation by many people was that when there is an opportunity to have someone take over the reins of leadership that comes from our own part of the country and understands our problem, that the problem would be solved. At a certain time in the history of this country, all the security apparatus, from the Army, the Navy, the police, the Air Force, the Civil Defence, even paramilitary institutions like Customs, Immigration, the Prison Service, even the DSS (Department of State Services) were all manned by northerners but what has come out of that? The situation is that it has become worse,” he said.
Sani urged northern politicians to engage in self-reflection and to develop clear developmental agendas. “The north, our people needs to do soul-searching. If you want power, you should have an agenda, you should have policies; you should know problems and solutions to problems,” he concluded.
