Former federal lawmaker and prominent Northern statesman, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, has tackled Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State for saying that any northerner who held public office in the past 20 years owes the North an apology for its backwardness.
In a press statement released in Abuja on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, Na’Allah, who was a two-time Senator representing Kebbi South in the National Assembly, described the governor’s statement as “regrettable,” noting that while he would ordinarily have ignored such a comment, the seriousness of the issue and its potential to influence public discourse compelled him to respond.
LEADERSHIP reports that Kaduna State governor had in a recent TV interview told northern politicians, particularly
those who have held political office in the last
20 years—including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir ElRufai—to apologise to the North over the region’s backwardness.
Sani stated that politicians from the
North who have served in the past two
decades failed the region and therefore lacked the moral right to criticise the current Bola Tinubu administration simply because they have switched political camps.
However, Na’Allah disagreed with Governor Sani, saying that the latter ought to be specific about those who needed to apologise for their failure.
“I have had the rare privilege of serving as a two-term member of the House of Representatives and a two-term member of the Senate. During these years, I rendered my service to Nigeria—and by extension, the North—with honesty, sincerity, and an unwavering commitment to inclusiveness,” Na’Allah said.
He recalled that one of his tenures in the Senate was served alongside Senator Uba Sani, now governor of Kaduna State, and maintained that his record remains devoid of any action or decision that could be considered injurious to Northern interests.
“I therefore see no reason to offer an apology to Nigeria or to any part of it,” he stated firmly.
In a pointed challenge to Governor Sani, Senator Na’Allah urged specificity: “If, after all the sacrifices I have made and the challenges I have faced in the course of my public service, Senator Uba Sani still believes that the North is entitled to an apology, I would respectfully request that he be specific in stating who should apologize and for what precise actions.”
Concluding his statement, Senator Na’Allah addressed the broader Northern public, reiterating a long-held concern about leadership in the region. “As long as merit does not guide our selection of leadership, the region will continue to regress, and the complex challenges confronting the North will only deepen and become more difficult to resolve,” he warned.
Senator Na’Allah’s comments have already sparked reactions from political observers and Northern stakeholders, many of whom see his response as a call for introspection rather than confrontation.
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