Shehu Sani, a former Senator, has claimed that security challenges in northern Nigeria were worse under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari than under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Senator Sani made this statement during the 40th anniversary and reunion of the ’84 set of Kagara Old Boys Association, composed of alumni from Government Science College, Kagara, in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

The event took place at Ahmadu Bahago Secondary School in Minna. Sani emphasized that security issues could be resolved if the government demonstrated genuine commitment. GSS Kagara has been closed since bandits invaded the school in 2021, abducting several students during the incident.

Commenting on the security situation in the country, he said;

“The security challenges would be over in the whole country because what we have now is better than the one we had during the Buhari administration. There is every evidence that many of the top terrorists have been eliminated by our security forces. And if you compare what we are having today to what we had yesterday, it is still the best.

“Under Buhari administration, we had series of attacks on schools including attacks on Green Field University, Kaduna, Bathel Baptist school, Kaduna, Government Science College, Kagara, Federal Government Girls’ College, Yauri, Federal School of Agricultural Mechanisation, Mando, Government Secondary school, Kankara, Government Secondary school, Jangibe, all under Buhari administration. So, we are hopeful that things would be better.”

Sani noted that while he supported the temporary relocation of Government Science College, Kagara, as suggested by the Niger State Government, the school should be moved back to Kagara as soon as the security situation in the area improves.

He added;

“It is unfortunate that the schools that produced some of the best hands in the history of this country are today the ruins of what they used to be. We must tell ourselves the fundamental truth that as long as we don’t provide education for our own young ones, we would be creating a force that we would not be able to contain in future.

“Northern Nigeria must take education seriously; we lag behind in education; we have the highest number of out of school children today. The activities of bandits and terrorists have destroyed the education fabrics and basis of northern Nigeria.

“The school we used to call our own has been deserted because bandits have once attacked the school and took hostage of students and some teachers.”