“Tinubu will remain unpopular until…” – Shehu Sani

Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will remain unpopular among Nigerians until the impact of his economic and policy reforms begin to show tangible results.

Sani made the statement during a recent interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he praised the President for allowing criticism even from his home region, the South West.

According to Sani, the current political climate under Tinubu marks a notable departure from what he experienced during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. He recalled how lawmakers, especially from the North, were pressured into silence whenever they tried to speak out against the harsh realities affecting their region.

“When I stood up in the parliament to speak about the insecurity in the North, I faced serious resistance from northern senators,” Sani said. “You were expected to be quiet and embrace whatever was happening just because the president was from your region.”

He added that any effort to draw attention to issues such as killings, poverty, or the growing number of out-of-school children during Buhari’s tenure was often met with accusations of disloyalty.

However, the former senator acknowledged that Tinubu’s leadership is charting a different course, even though it comes at a political cost.

“Tinubu is embarking on a project he knows will make him unpopular. You either do what the people want to please them, or you take tough decisions for the future of the country and risk losing popularity. He has chosen the latter,” Sani explained.

He concluded by saying that the President’s unpopularity may persist until the Nigerian people begin to see the benefits of his reforms.