In a recent interview on Channels TV’s “Politics Today,” Senator Shehu Sani, who formerly represented Kaduna Central, made a striking claim regarding the #EndBadGovernance protest in Northern Nigeria. According to Sani, the protest was not primarily about economic hardship but was instead an orchestrated attempt to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Sani explained, “There was no visible leadership during the protest as far as Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, etc., are concerned. It’s a fact that even protest has a rule.”
He emphasized the importance of organized leadership in protests, noting, “The first rule is that there will be a reason for which people protest. Yes, there is hunger and hardship as a result of economic reforms, which are enough reasons for people to protest, but peacefully.”
Sani further elaborated on the necessity of structured leadership in demonstrations: “Secondly, the protest needs leadership. When you have leaders who will lead the floor in the streets, then certainly one of the responsibilities of that leader is to control the crowd and guide them. He can say we are going to start the protest from one point to another and from 6am to 4pm. That was not the case in the north, especially from Kaduna where I come from.”
The senator highlighted the chaotic nature of the protests in the north, saying, “People were called out to the street and they were left on autopilot. The young people used the opportunity to launch attacks on public infrastructure, molest people, and attack banks.”
A particularly concerning aspect, according to Sani, was the distribution of money and Russian flags to youths during the protests. He remarked, “The new dimension that money was shared to youth and the Russian flag shared shows that the whole intent of the protest is not about policies and programmes of the government or removal of subsidy. But there was an attempt to create an atmosphere where there will be an overthrow of the government.”
Sani concluded with a stark warning, “When you see this kind of situation, there is someone that wrote a script for anarchy, lawlessness, and disorder.”
These allegations by Senator Sani have sparked significant discussion and concern regarding the true motives behind the #EndBadGovernance protests and the stability of the current administration.
