by Mohammed Bello Doka
6 May, 2026
In the unforgiving theatre of Nigerian politics, where promises evaporate faster than harmattan dust, one name echoes as a stark symbol of elite failure: Shehu Sani. As he eyes a dramatic return to the Senate in 2027 for Kaduna Central, Nigerians must confront a bitter truth — the North continues to bleed from leadership that offers cheap radios instead of real solutions. While bandits terrorize communities, poverty crushes millions, and illiteracy condemns generations, recycled politicians strut with pride in their mediocrity.
Shehu Sani’s 2015-2019 Senate tenure will forever be remembered for the infamous distribution of over 100,000 transistor radios to constituents. In an era of smartphones, digital skills, and urgent infrastructure needs, this was presented as “empowerment.” Critics rightly mocked it as outdated patronage — cheap gadgets instead of jobs, roads, schools, or security. Billions in constituency funds flowed through his office, yet tangible transformation remained elusive. Poorly constructed and underfunded boreholes here and there could not mask the abandoned promises of genuine development in a zone gasping for breath.
Today, Kaduna State paints a harrowing picture of this neglect. Recent data reveals that about **8.04 million** residents live in multidimensional poverty. Unemployment and underemployment hover around 44% and 22% respectively. The North-West, including Kaduna, suffers some of Nigeria’s worst human development indicators, with high rates of illiteracy, especially among women and rural populations. Banditry, kidnappings, and violent attacks persist, claiming thousands of lives nationwide — with the first half of 2025 alone recording more bandit-related deaths than all of 2024. Kaduna remains a hotspot, where communities live in fear despite heavy security spending.
This is not mere governance failure; it is systemic elite betrayal. Northern political godfathers have dominated Nigeria’s leadership for decades yet presided over a region plagued by mass poverty, out-of-school children, and insecurity fueled by joblessness and ignorance. Instead of grooming visionary leaders with proven track records in security, economic revival, and education, the ruling APC and its allies recycle figures tested and failed — men proud of symbolic gestures while the North sinks deeper into crisis. Why recruit yesterday’s underperformers when the challenges demand fresh, results-driven minds?
Vital questions demand answers: **Who is trying to impose Senator Shehu Sani on Kaduna Central in 2027?** Is it President Bola Tinubu, whose administration grapples with national economic reforms, or Governor Uba Sani, who himself battles these inherited monsters? Political maneuvers, endorsements from elders, and declarations of interest suggest a calculated push that prioritizes loyalty and recycled fame over competence.
Nigerians, especially in the North, must rise above partisan blind loyalty and the deadly temptation of rice and noodles politics. The era of stomach infrastructure has delivered nothing but empty bellies and mass graves. We cannot afford another cycle where failed leaders return with the same tired playbook — eloquent activism on national TV paired with local abandonment. The mounting crises of banditry, poverty, and illiteracy require leaders who deliver schools that work, economies that employ, and security that protects — not radio giveaways and abandoned projects.
The North’s suffering is self-inflicted by its own elites who talk tough but deliver little. Kaduna and the broader region deserve better than recycled representation. As 2027 approaches, the people must reject this politics of failure with their votes and voices. Enough of leaders who forget the people in the Senate chambers and return only to repeat the same costly mistakes. The time for real change is now — before the North is completely devoured by the crises its leaders helped create.
Mohammed Bello Doka can be reached via [email protected]
Abuja Network News
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Opinion