Published by Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Arewa Consultative Forum, the foremost socio‑political organisation in northern Nigeria, has dismissed Vice‑Presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso’s aspirations to be seen as the region’s new leader, bluntly telling him to stop comparing himself to the revered late Premier of the old Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto.
The ACF’s National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Mohammed‑Baba, gave the warning in an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. He accused Kwankwaso, who is the running‑mate to Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi, of saying “the wrong things” by attempting to present himself as the “new Messiah of the North” and a political heir to the Sardauna and the radical reformer Malam Aminu Kano.
“He has been saying the wrong things, talking about Sarduana, Aminu Kano, saying he is the new Messiah and I think that in the North that is very irreverent because you can’t compare yourself to those people; they operated in the context of their time,” Mohammed‑Baba said. “It will be highly delusional of him to go that far and say he present an alternative.” The ACF spokesman further predicted that the North would see Kwankwaso as “irrelevant” in the 2027 presidential contest.
The reprimand follows a growing chorus of criticism from northern groups and commentators, many of whom accuse Kwankwaso of betraying northern political values by aligning with Obi, a southern Christian. In recent weeks, the Northern Youth Assembly has rejected the Kwankwaso‑Obi alliance outright, describing it as a “betrayal of northern political values and interests” and a “political miscalculation” that weakens Kwankwaso’s standing among his traditional support base. The group demanded a clear explanation from Kwankwaso for failing to publicly challenge supporters of the “Obidient Movement” who have allegedly made remarks “disrespectful to revered northern leaders, including Sir Ahmadu Bello.”
Kwankwaso has not directly responded to the ACF’s latest rebuke. However, supporters within his Kwankwasiyya movement have previously drawn parallels between the former Kano State governor and the late northern icons. In July 2025, an NNPP chieftain, Alhaji Aminu Ringim, compared Kwankwaso’s grassroots appeal and social reform agenda to that of the Sardauna and Aminu Kano, arguing that Kwankwaso embodies the “trust, humility and mass appeal” of the late President Muhammadu Buhari and represents a modern extension of the radical egalitarian vision of Aminu Kano.
The rift between Kwankwaso and the northern establishment reflects a deepening generational and political divide in the region, as the 2027 elections approach. The ACF has stated it will not endorse any candidate, and its sharp dismissal of Kwankwaso signals that the former governor may struggle to secure the institutional backing of the North’s traditional power brokers as he campaigns alongside a southern presidential candidate. For the former vice‑presidential candidate, the road to 2027 now runs directly through the region whose political mantle he claims, but whose gatekeepers have just declared him a stranger at their door.
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