In an exclusive interview with The Sun, human rights crusader and public commentator, Senator Shehu Sani, revealed the strategic plans of Atiku Abubakar and his allies to challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration in the 2027 elections. This disclosure follows the recent Sallah homage paid by Atiku, the former Vice President and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in 2019 and 2023, to former President Muhammadu Buhari. Alongside other Northern elite, Atiku’s visit was seen as a significant political move. Sani highlighted the growing alignment among Northern political figures as a prelude to a concerted effort to reclaim the presidency.
Addressing the increasing economic hardship under President Tinubu, Sani provided a critical analysis of the situation. He pointed out that while the country faced significant challenges during Buhari's tenure, the situation has deteriorated further under Tinubu. Sani attributed this decline to the unsustainable economic policies previously employed. According to him, under Buhari, the country was essentially operating on borrowed time, using financial measures to temporarily stave off deeper economic issues. These short-term fixes, he suggested, have now culminated in more severe problems under Tinubu’s administration.
Sani elaborated that the practice of pumping dollars to support the naira and using naira to stabilize oil prices created an artificial sense of economic stability. This strategy, he argued, was bound to fail eventually as the resources to maintain such support would inevitably run out. With the depletion of these financial reserves, the underlying economic issues have become more pronounced, leading to the current hardship experienced by many Nigerians.
In his interview, Sani called for a reassessment of these economic strategies to address the root causes of the nation’s financial woes. He emphasized the need for sustainable policies that go beyond temporary fixes and aim to build a more resilient economy. This perspective sheds light on the broader political and economic context as Nigeria navigates through its current challenges and looks ahead to the next presidential election in 2027.
He said: Well, under Buhari, we were simply living a borrowed time because we were buying ourselves out of the problem and we were pumping money to defer the problem. And now, the problem falls on the head of President Tinubu. If we are pumping dollar to support our naira, there will be a time to which we don’t have the dollar to support our naira. If we are pumping our naira to support oil prices, there will be a time there will be no naira to support oil prices.