A former Kaduna lawmaker, Sen. Shehu Sani, has revealed that he lost his Senate re-election bid in 2019 because he opposed former Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s move to obtain a $340 million foreign loan.
Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the Eighth Senate, made this disclosure in an interview with Newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.
Sani stated, “I was insistent on speaking truth to power, and that was why I lost my re-election bid in 2019. Former Gov. Nasir El-Rufai was going for a $340 million loan, and we said ‘No.’ Some of us told him that such a venture would impact negatively on our people, but he went ahead and did that, while he perceived us as his political enemies. This political battle with El-Rufai affected several other politicians, resulting in our leaving the party en masse. My own very case was that I stood up to the governor, and I paid the price by losing my seat.”
The popular pro-democracy activist, however, expressed satisfaction that he has been vindicated. He said, “At that time, the governor was opposed to me; the state assembly members were opposed to me, and many political figures there were opposed to me. Today, I am vindicated because even the governor of the state today has made it public how the finances and the economy of the state have been strangulated by that loan. Many projects were littered, uncompleted, and abandoned all over the state. Kaduna today has become the second highest indebted state in the country. So, I am vindicated, even though I lost my seat.”
Sani emphasized that he was satisfied with the role he played in opposing the controversial loan. He said, “I’m satisfied that, at least, when I die, nobody will look to my grave and say this is the person who signed an approval for the loan that we are going to pay in 100 years. The vindication is more important to me than my return to the National Assembly.”
The former lawmaker attributed the failure of most members of the National Assembly to secure re-election to their refusal to be loyal to their governors. He noted that this often results in a high turnover of lawmakers during each election cycle. Sani, however, criticized this trend, stating that it is not the best for Nigeria’s democracy.
He said, “In the developed world, such as India and the United States, some lawmakers would be in the legislature for 30, 40, and 50 years. But in Nigeria, if you are a senator and you are fond of standing up every time to speak truth to power, you will hardly come back to that National Assembly. If what you are doing or saying is particularly contrary to the interests of the governor of your state, you will not come back to the National Assembly.”
Sani also highlighted the influence of state governors and the presidency in determining leadership positions in the National Assembly. He said, “It’s only during Buhari’s time that a mistake was made in 2015, which made Buhari lose the election at the National Assembly. Then, his adversary Sen. Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara took over, and you could see what happened for four years. So, if you are elected as a governor of a state, your life is dependent on the state assembly, and you cannot allow your enemy to take over. So, you will bring someone whose first qualification is not that he speaks good English, second qualification is not that he is competent, third qualification is not that he is good looking, and fourth qualification is not that he knows how to make laws. The first qualification of a person who is going to be a speaker is that he is 100 per cent loyal to the governor or the president.”
