By Obinna Uballa
The controversy surrounding a proposed United States bill recommending sanctions against former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has gotten some clarity as US-based Professor of Journalism, Farooq Kperogi, has drawn from historical accounts to question the basis of the allegation.
The New Diplomat had reported that Kwankwaso was, alongside Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, named in the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, introduced in the US House of Representatives by Congressmen Chris Smith, Riley Moore, Brian Mast and Bill Huizenga. The bill recommends visa bans and asset freezes for individuals and groups accused of complicity in religious freedom violations in Nigeria.
But in an opinion piece titled “Why Kwankwaso Was Singled Out in a US Bill,” Kperogi expressed surprise at Kwankwaso’s inclusion, insisting that his political record does not support the label of religious extremism.
“Anyone with even the faintest familiarity with Kwankwaso’s trajectory and disposition knows that he is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a religious fanatic,” Kperogi wrote.
Recounting his experience as a journalist covering Kano politics in 2000, Kperogi said Kwankwaso initially resisted the adoption of Sharia law and was caught in intense political pressure from clerics and the public.
“The governor was trapped in a delicate cul-de-sac. And his escape route was the launching of Sharia on the 21st of June 2000,” he recalled from his June 30, 2000 report in Weekly Trust.
Kperogi quoted Kwankwaso’s remarks during the formal launch of Sharia as evidence of his moderate stance: “Only the state government has the right to punish offenders. We should avoid taking the law into our hands. We should not intimidate those who are not Muslims.”
“That is not the rhetoric of a religious extremist,” Kperogi added.
He argued that Kwankwaso’s reluctance to aggressively implement Sharia later cost him political support among Kano’s clerical establishment, contributing to his electoral defeat in 2003.
Kperogi suggested that Kwankwaso’s current predicament may be linked to his criticism of the US designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over religious persecution.
“Kwankwaso was the only nationally prominent Nigerian politician who openly criticized the United States’ designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern,” he wrote.
He cited US lawmaker Riley Moore’s reaction on social media: “Governor do you care to comment on your own complicity in the death of Christians? You instituted Sharia law. You signed the law that makes so-called blasphemy punishable by death.”
According to Kperogi, “Kwankwaso’s inclusion in the bill appears less rooted in his actual record than in his dissent from a particular U.S. policy posture.”
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have both rejected the proposed sanctions.
APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, who spoke to Punch Newspaper, argued that the United States should not act on allegations without due process.
“America is the beacon of democracy… They cannot, on the strength of an allegation alone, go ahead to suggest a ban or restriction… without subjecting him to a fair hearing,” he said.
The NNPP described the move as blackmail and questioned why Kwankwaso was singled out among northern governors who adopted Sharia.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, noted that Kwankwaso ran in 2023 with a Christian running mate and maintained cordial relations with Christian leaders.
Johnson also referenced Kwankwaso’s earlier caution against “oversimplified characterisations of Nigeria’s internal challenges” when US President Donald Trump re-designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
The bill, which alleges that Nigeria accounts for 82 per cent of Christians killed globally, is still at the introductory stage and must pass several legislative hurdles before becoming law.
