The Kwankwasiyya Movement has dismissed remarks credited to former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff suggesting that Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi has no meaningful political future in Northern Nigeria ahead of 2027, calling the comments both unfounded and dismissive of Northern voters’ independence.
In a statement from spokesperson Habibu Sale Mohammed Mailemo, the movement said it received the remarks with profound disappointment, alongside millions of Nigerians and freedom loving Northerners, arguing the comments betray a view that millions of citizens are incapable of making independent political decisions without approval from a few self appointed gatekeepers. No individual has the mandate to decide for the entire North, the statement said, insisting Northern Nigeria is home to diverse political opinions and convictions that have repeatedly proven impossible to reduce to stereotype or dictate to.
The movement pointed to the 2023 presidential election as evidence that Northern voters exercise independent judgment, quoting its national leader Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s observation that the outcome of that election clearly disproved any claim that a candidate cannot attract cross regional support, since the votes cast across Northern Nigeria reflected citizens’ constitutional freedom to support whichever candidate they chose. Attempts to rewrite that political reality, the movement argued, serve neither democracy nor national unity, and instead deepen divisions at a moment when Nigerians expect their leaders to focus on urgent national challenges.
