Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has cautioned journalists against politicians he described as “latter-day activists,” accusing them of attempting to undermine Nigeria’s democracy for political advantage.

The governor gave the warning on Thursday night while hosting journalists to a Ramadan breaking of fast at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna.

Sani said Nigeria’s democratic system was under threat from politicians who resort to activism only when government policies and decisions do not favour them.

He urged journalists to remain vigilant and resist attempts by such politicians to manipulate public opinion and destabilise the democratic process.

According to him, journalists played a historic role in Nigeria’s struggle for democracy and should not allow the sacrifices made during that period to be eroded.

“When we were in the struggle, we the civil rights activists relied mostly on journalists. Most of them lost their freedom and some even lost their lives when we were fighting for democracy,” he said.

Sani noted that it would be impossible to discuss the growth of democracy in Nigeria without acknowledging the critical contributions of journalists during the era of military rule.

“Nigerians cannot talk of democracy today without the contribution of journalists. So, you have to be vigilant about this category of politicians who are conflict merchants,” he said.

Consequently, he called on media professionals to scrutinise the activities of politicians who now portray themselves as activists despite their past alliances with undemocratic regimes.

“These are people who were not with us during the struggle. Many of them were actually partnering with military dictators. Today, from nowhere, they are trying to teach us democracy,” the governor said.

He accused such politicians of fuelling divisions in the country by focusing on issues of ethnicity and religion rather than addressing critical development challenges.

“Rather than talk about healthcare, education, human capital development, infrastructure, unemployment and poverty, they dwell on ethnicity and religion which divide the country,” Sani said.

The governor urged journalists to ask what he described as hard questions about the democratic credentials of such political actors.

“What do they know about fundamental human rights? What do they know about freedom, rule of law, equality and justice? These are the questions journalists should ask them,” he added.

Sani also used the occasion to highlight key achievements of his administration in Kaduna State over the past two and a half years.

According to him, available records showed that 12 local government areas in the state had no single kilometre of road constructed for about 10 years before his administration came into office.

He said his government had since extended development projects to all 23 local government areas in the state as part of efforts to promote equity and balanced development.

On healthcare, the governor disclosed that only five of the 32 secondary hospitals in the state were functional when his administration assumed office, adding that 15 of them were currently undergoing renovation, remodelling and equipping.

Sani also said the number of out-of-school children in Kaduna State had dropped significantly from 580,000 to about 182,000, noting that the government was collaborating with development partners, including UNICEF and the Islamic Development Bank, to build 102 additional schools to further address the challenge.