Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited a broken system from the previous administration.

He attributed the region’s current issues to the northern politicians who have been in power for the past 16 years.

Governor Sani made these comments during a students’ summit held at Yar’adua Hall, Murtala Square, Kaduna, this weekend.

He urged northern elites, including politicians and businessmen, to move beyond blame and take concrete steps to address the region’s challenges.

Sani commended the students for their decision to disassociate themselves from the planned nationwide strike.

“I’m happy today that you don’t want to join this protest. We need to sit down, as I mentioned when I met the Arewa Consultative Forum last week. I made it clear to them that all of us, including myself and all the politicians in northern Nigeria over the last 16 years, should be held accountable for the poverty, unemployment, lack of education, and security issues in the region,” he said.

He reflected on the state of security, noting that in 2016, Kaduna residents were not familiar with issues like banditry, kidnappings, or insurgency.

“In 2016, there were no kidnappings in Birnin Gwari. What went wrong? What is the problem?” he questioned.

Sani said insurgency, banditry, and kidnappings escalated around 2017-2018.

He urged northern leaders to reflect critically on why the region is in its current predicament, highlighting that northern Nigeria is currently excluded from financial institutions, pointing out the absence of national banks owned by northern businessmen, which he deemed detrimental to the region’s progress. (Daily Trust)