By Comrade KAMAL YUSUF AHMAD

Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, former Governor of Borno State, delivered yet another masterclass in political delusion during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme with Seun Okinbaloye on the night of July 6, 2026. His remarks on Peter Obi were filled with dismissive undertones and unsubstantiated implications that ignored verifiable records, revealing a troubling blend of short sightedness and disrespect for Nigerians, particularly the Northern masses, who continue to suffer the long-term consequences of leadership failures like his.

Sheriff built a career hopping between PDP, ANPP, APC, and back always positioning for relevance. Obi, conversely, has shown principle, departing a decayed PDP, galvanizing the Labour Party in 2023, and now anchoring a broader coalition for genuine national renewal, not personal convenience.

To suggest Obi lacks the stature for independent national politics is laughable. As Anambra Governor (2006–2014), Obi transformed a near bankrupt state into one of Nigeria’s most fiscally disciplined and developed. He left over N75 billion in assets and savings, paid off debts, and prioritized education, health, and infrastructure achievements verified by multiple rating agencies and successor administrations. Sheriff, meanwhile, governed Borno during the critical incubation period of Boko Haram.

History records Ali Modu Sheriff's tenure (2003–2011) as a dark chapter. Boko Haram did not emerge in a vacuum. Reports, intelligence memos, and investigations have repeatedly linked the ecosystem of his governance to the sect’s growth. A disciple of Mohammed Yusuf reportedly served in his administration as Commissioner for Religious Affairs. Politics of fear, intimidation of opposition, and alliances that tolerated radical elements created fertile ground for the insurgency to explode.

Australian hostage negotiator Stephen Davis publicly named Sheriff among sponsors. Intelligence reports alleged training links via Chad. While Sheriff denies these, threatening lawsuits and issuing denials, the timing is damning.

The group’s radicalization and violence surged under his watch, displacing millions and killing hundreds of thousands. Northern Nigerians, especially in Borno, paid the heaviest price with blood, lost education, and shattered livelihoods. For him to now posture as a wise elder on national television is not only tone deaf but an insult to the victims.

His much-touted empowerment initiatives, cooperatives, micro loans, and cottage schemes amounted to temporary palliatives and patronage vehicles. Billions flowed through the system, yet youth and women received handouts too feeble to survive economic shocks or the rising violence. This was not transformative governance, it was the maintenance of dependency.

Peter Obi stands in stark contrast. Since leaving office, he has poured personal resources and tireless advocacy into education, healthcare, and economic empowerment across Nigeria including the North. Millions donated to nursing schools, vocational centers, boreholes, solar powered classrooms, learning materials, and flood relief (such as substantial support for Borno victims). He consistently champions modernizing Northern agriculture and human capital as the pathway out of poverty.

Contrast this with Peter Obi's undeniable contributions. Post governorship, Obi has channeled personal resources and relentless advocacy into education, healthcare, and livelihoods nationwide including the North. He has donated tens of millions to nursing colleges, schools, and hospitals. Boreholes, solar powered classrooms, laptops, and vocational training. Provided flood relief (e.g. N50 million to Borno victims) and visited Northern communities to push agriculture, skills, and human capital development.

In 2025 alone, his interventions in Northern education and water projects outshone many sitting officials. Obi consistently argues that the North is Nigeria’s greatest asset. Its land, people, and potential in agriculture. if only poverty, illiteracy, and poor health are tackled head on. His approach is not tokenism or photo-op rice distribution, it is investment in systems that create escape velocity from poverty. Northern leaders know this. Many quietly respect it. Yet public silence persists.

Northern political elites who have served as willing tools for every corrupt federal government since 1999. From military era godfathers to PDP, APC, and beyond, they have traded the future of Northern youth for personal fiefdoms, contracts, and federal appointments.

By keeping the masses impoverished through neglect of education, skills, and enterprise, they ensure a ready pool of political foot soldiers and dependents. Their children attend elite schools abroad while the talakawa remain trapped in cycles of poverty, easily manipulated during elections. Ali Modu Sheriff exemplifies this. Obi’s model which is frugal governance, savings, and direct investment in people threatens this extractive status quo. Hence the ridicule and dismissal. Sheriff’s interview was not just factually flimsy; it was morally bankrupt. It disrespected Northern Nigerians by implying they cannot discern competent, compassionate leadership from the politics of patronage and failure. Peter Obi does not need PDP validation. His record from Anambra’s turnaround to nationwide philanthropy speaks louder than any defector’s speculation.

The era of recycling failure is ending. Leaders like Sheriff, embarrassed by their own legacies, sense the shift and it terrifies them. Nigerians, especially the suffering Northern youth, are watching. History will not be kind to those who chose patronage over progress.

•Comrade Kamal Yusuf Ahmad can be reached via ddarkhorsegraphics@gmail.com

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