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[OPINION] Northern Amnesia: Governor Sani, The Table Shaker

Published

4 months ago

July 30, 2025

By Israel Adebiyi

“When truth is buried underground, it grows, it chokes, it gathers such explosive force that on the day it bursts out, it blows up everything with it.”
— Émile Zola

There’s a kind of silence that settles over the land after years of failure. A silence made of shame, denial, and carefully chosen half-truths. In Northern Nigeria, that silence has become an institution — polite, predictable, and profoundly dangerous.

Then came Uba Sani — with words that cut through like harmattan wind.

At a recent citizen engagement summit in Kaduna, Governor Uba Sani did what few northern politicians have ever dared. He faced the region and told it the truth: “We failed our people.” Not they. We. All of us who have held power in the North in the past two decades, he said, must offer the people an apology.

In that single moment, he shattered the convenient forgetfulness the North has grown used to. He didn’t call out Abuja. He didn’t drag the South. He didn’t blame some vague colonial past or “outsiders.” He pointed the finger inward — and included himself.

That is no small thing. That is not politics. That is an act of courage.

Because what Governor Sani spoke to is not just political miscalculation. It’s a generational betrayal. A betrayal that has left too many Northern children unschooled, too many women dying in childbirth, too many communities in darkness, and too many homes listening for the next gunshot.

Let’s stop for a moment and look at the evidence — not the emotion, but the math.

According to the 2022 National Multidimensional Poverty Index, nine of the ten poorest states in Nigeria are in the North. In Sokoto, over 90% of people live in poverty. Kebbi, Zamfara, Jigawa — same story. We’re not just failing; we’ve normalized failure.

And yet, this is the region that has held the most power in Nigeria since independence. Presidents. Military heads of state. Senators. Generals. Governors. Ministers. National Security Advisers. We’ve produced them all. But not the outcomes.

We’ve built palaces in Abuja, but not a working school in Shinkafi. We’ve padded budgets but abandoned hospitals in Birnin Kebbi. In some states, over 60% of children aged 6–15 have never seen the inside of a classroom. What kind of leadership allows this?

Northern mothers still die in delivery rooms at three times the national average, according to the latest NDHS report. Some rural health centres don’t even have paracetamol. The elites fly abroad. The poor bury their dead.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: [OPINION] BUHARI: The Man Who Missed Redemption

Security? Forget it. From Zamfara to Katsina to Niger, bandits have made homes out of forests. Whole villages are ghost towns. And yet, most of the top military chiefs in the last decade came from this region. Who, then, is to blame?

Let’s talk money. The North is land-rich but cash-poor. While Lagos alone contributes over 30% to Nigeria’s GDP, most northern states struggle to hit 1%. But the same northern governors go cap-in-hand for federal allocation and call it development. Where are the industries? Where is the productivity?

This is what Sani is shaking — a region that has grown comfortable with underdevelopment and allergic to self-reflection.

Some elites have pushed back, of course. Former senators and political juggernauts who built their careers on recycled loyalty have tried to downplay his remarks. They say he was too harsh. That he forgot their “service”. That he shouldn’t “wash dirty linen in public.”

But if that linen hasn’t been washed for 40 years, where should it be aired?

Let’s be honest — it is easier to blame Buhari, or Tinubu, or the South. But Sani refuses the easy route. He says: we, the North, are not victims here. We are architects of our own decline.

He refuses to play the amnesia game.

You can feel the discomfort in the air. He has stepped on toes — and many of those toes wear agbadas. But the truth is not about comfort. It’s about course correction.

This isn’t about just Uba Sani. It’s about whether the North still has the capacity to face its reflection. To see the rot — and clean house. To stop building dynasties and start building schools. To stop naming roads after ancestors and start giving roads to rural farmers.

Too many of our children are stuck in almajiri cycles while the children of the elite occupy UK universities. Too many of our mothers die in labor while wives of past governors set up foundations for photo-ops. Too many old names have stayed too long — and are grooming their sons for the throne.

That is what Governor Sani is fighting: not just silence, but the inheritance of silence.

He says, “Let’s apologise.” But apology alone is not enough. It must be backed with a plan. A Marshall Plan for the North — real investment, not campaign slogans. Functional education, not workshops. Security that protects, not retaliates. Jobs that empower, not enslave.

It must come with the rethinking of what power is: not title, not convoy, not prayer photos — but legacy measured in lives changed, not lives lost.

Governor Sani’s voice may be lonely now. But history listens to such voices. And perhaps, just perhaps, in that lone voice, the North might find a new beginning.

Because silence, when it becomes tradition, is nothing but consent.

And now, one man has dared to shout.

News

Edo Dep. Gov. Idahosa Inducted, Bestowed With Rotary Premium Award

Published

10 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Editor

The Edo State deputy governor, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, has been bestowed with the Rotary Premium Award by the Benin Metropolitan Rotary Club, District 9141 in recognition of his humanitarian disposition.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Friday Aghedo, the deputy governor was accorded this recognition when the humanitarian organization visited his office to induct him into the club

Idahosa expressed appreciation for the recognition and promised to continue to contribute his best for the betterment of the society and humanity.

“When I was growing up, my prayer to God, was Bless me so that I will be a blessing to the world,” he stated.

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He noted that the recognition was in no doubt, a call for higher responsibilities.

Rotary President, Hon. Elizabeth Ativie who gave reasons for the award and investiture, maintained that the induction was based on Idahosa’s humanitarian disposition which is in line with Rotary Club’s doctrine of service above self, humanitarian and community.

“This is a reflection of where your heart is,” she told Idahosa.

The Assistant District Governor of the Club, (AG) Samson Olayiwola of Zone 20, D 9141, later decorated Idahosa with the “Rotarian pin,” the recognized logo of the Rotary Club worldwide.

This was in addition to the presentation of a certificate of membership and embroidered with a sash that uniquely identifies Idahosa as a member of the “RC Benin Metropolitan District.”

News

Doctors’ Strike Continues As NARD Demands Fair Deal, Better Pay

Published

11 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has called on the Federal Government to immediately conclude a long-delayed Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), as their indefinite strike entered its 15th day on Saturday.

It also demanded a review of the outdated Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).

In a statement posted on X on Saturday, the union said: “Dear Nigerians, Doctors Deserve a Fair Deal! For long we’ve waited for a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), a simple, written promise that ensures fairness, clear work terms, and proper pay. But the government keeps delaying, while doctors face rising costs and crumbling morale.

“We demand the immediate conclusion of the CBA and review of the outdated CONMESS salary structure.”

The strike, which began earlier this month, has affected 91 hospitals nationwide, including federal teaching hospitals, specialist institutions, and federal medical centres, disrupting medical services across the country.

NARD said the union’s 19-point demand list is reasonable and necessary for the welfare of doctors and patients.

The list includes the payment of arrears under the CONMESS salary structure, disbursement of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund, prompt payment of specialist allowances, recognition of postgraduate qualifications, and improved working conditions.

The union stressed that these measures are essential to sustain doctors and maintain a functional healthcare system.

President Bola Tinubu has also directed the Ministry of Health to immediately resolve the strike, noting that the government is addressing the doctors’ demands.

Despite the directive, NARD said delays in finalising the CBA and reviewing salaries have continued to demoralise doctors, many of whom face rising living costs while providing critical medical services.

News

VIDEO: Fayose Speaks About Own Death, Burial

Published

12 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Editor

Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said his body should be buried within four weeks of his death. Fayose also laid out detailed instructions for his burial, including that nobody should visit after he is buried.

He said his body and the burial arrangement should be handled by the Ekiti State Government.

In a six-minute video shared on YouTube by City Edge TV on Saturday, Fayose, who turns 65 today, said: “Remember me for anything. And when I die, let me say this. Death is inevitable. My body belongs to the Ekiti state government… I’m delivering a letter to the governor.”

Fayose added that regardless of when his death occurs, the state government should take charge of his remains.

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“Let us say in another 20, 30 years, 15 years, whatever time, for the glory of God. The Ekiti state government takes over my body, and I must be buried within four weeks. Because the state might not be ready within two, three days, we allow them four weeks.”

Fayose added that his children should wear their own clothes and follow the directives of the government at the time of his death.

About his final resting place, he said: “My grandmother’s home, the mother of my father, I’ve made the garden there. I should be laid to rest there. After my departure, nobody must come there again. Allow me to go. If you want to show me love, if you want to take care of me, do so now.”

The channel also shared a 20-minute video showing popular juju musician King Sunny Ade serenading the former governor on stage while he danced at his birthday thanksgiving reception.

Celebrated by several political figures. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike described Fayose as “a valuable friend and brother, who will never pretend about where he stands on issues,” adding: “Ayodele, my younger brother, may you reach the age of your elder brother in good health, and may God continue to make your days on earth fruitful, with immeasurable blessings.”

Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, also congratulated Fayose in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, praising his “remarkable contributions” to the state and describing him as: “A leader who loves and connects well with the people, a respected grassroots politician and mobiliser, and a statesman who will never shy away from bearing his mind in his determination to see a more prosperous state and country.”

Watch the video here