Former Nigerian Senator and civil rights activist, Shehu Sani, has raised alarm over Nigeria’s chronic political fixation, warning that the country is squandering its limited time for governance by prioritising partisan ambitions over national development.

Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Sunday, Sani delivered a critique of the country’s political culture, stating that the obsession with the 2027 elections has already begun to erode the government’s ability to focus on urgent issues such as insecurity, infrastructure, education and economic recovery.

He said, “Our constitution caters to a four-year term in office. And the way we divide this four-year is that governance only happens in one year. The second year is talking about the election. The third year is conducting the election. And the last year will be handing over after election. So we waste almost more than 70 percent of a four-year tenure discussing about the next election. Virtually, a sane country, a stable country, a country that does its work, should dedicate almost three and a half years of the lifespan of its democratic process in its development. The national discourse is not about technology. It’s not about infrastructure. It’s not about the economy. It’s not about the future. It’s not about how we can be Indonesia, Malaysia, or Japan. It is about handover. It’s about elections. It’s about coalition. It’s about endorsement. This is where we have found ourselves today.

“What will I expect after the 2023 elections? Everyone wants a tool for governance to now know the issues we are going to address. Address our security challenges, educational challenges, health challenges, infrastructural challenges, and rebuild and reconfigure our country for the future. But that’s not the case. After the first year in power, the next is talking about 2027. And the next year, the year after that, we’ll be preparing about 2027. And then the last year will be about conducting election for 2027. So virtually, we don’t have any space for governance.”

The former senator from Kaduna State stressed the urgent need to shift the national conversation away from political coalitions, defections and endorsements, and toward rebuilding the country’s social and economic fabric.

“I think it’s very important that, as a country, that we put in the interests of this country first before our own personal interests. And the only way to go about it is that politicians must see themselves as Nigerians first before they think about their political party, their political affiliation, or wherever they come from. A nation of 230 million people, we don’t have much time left to spend so much time in politics. All this struggle, all this craze, all this desperation for political power, has not been helpful to this country. And I think it is time for us to, each time election comes to an end, it’s time for us to concentrate on governance,” he urged.

Sani provided a measured review of President Bola Tinubu’s two-year performance, acknowledging what he described as “unthinkable reforms” and some improvements in security in northern Nigeria, particularly around school abductions.

“There are still challenges going on now, but I can’t remember the last time when we have gotten reports where students were kidnapped and ransomed and extorted. If you can remember in my own area of the state, there was an attack on Greenfield University, Bethel Baptist High School, even the Nigerian Defence Academy, Polytechnic in Zaria, and other southern Kaduna were all under attack. But for now, things have come down. But that does not mean the security issues are virtually solved, but we can see improvement in that aspect of it,” he noted.

He also praised some cabinet members for their innovation and visibility, including Minister of Works David Umahi, Minister of Health Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Jumoke Oduwole, among others.

The senator also weighed in on the controversial compulsory voting bill, which proposes fines or jail terms for eligible Nigerians who refuse to vote. While acknowledging the problem of voter apathy, Sani rejected coercion.

He advocated instead for civic education and trust in the electoral process, saying people would be more likely to vote if they believed their votes mattered.

“I do not support a compulsory voting law for all Nigerians, but we should enlighten Nigerians to vote. But forcing them to go and vote will come with a lot of consequences. And then you ask yourself, why are you not going to vote? Apart from the fact that their refusal to vote enabled those who vote or rig elections to put in the person they want, the point is that perhaps many people have lost interest in the passion to vote people into office if your votes don’t count,” he said.

“But in the general sense, if you know you are not going to vote, there is no reason for you to go and collect PVCs, because these are very expensive items which were all budgeted for. And then you sit down, and then you complain when the person you don’t want emerges the leader of your country. So we should enlighten people on the need to go and vote.” (AriseNews TV)