Northern Awareness Network Criticizes Peter Obi’s Comments on South African Elections

The Northern Awareness Network has criticized Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, for his remarks regarding the recent South African elections.

Obi had praised the South African election as a “shining example” of transparency and lamented the differences between South Africa’s electoral process and Nigeria’s, calling it a reflection of Nigeria’s ongoing struggles with democratic governance.

His comments were made in a post on his X handle on Saturday.

In response, the Northern Awareness Network, through a statement by its chairman Salihu Suleiman, argued that comparing the two nations’ electoral processes is misleading due to their vastly different political histories and contexts.

“South Africa has a long history of democracy, having gone through significant political reform and transformation over several decades of practice.

On the other hand, Nigeria only transitioned to democracy in 1999 after years of military rule,” Suleiman explained.

He further stated that Obi’s comparison demonstrates a lack of understanding of the distinct political landscapes of the two countries.

“Peter Obi’s attempt to compare the electoral processes of South Africa and Nigeria is quite ridiculous.

The two countries are at different stages of democratic development, and it would be more prudent to focus on addressing the specific challenges facing the Nigerian electoral system rather than drawing unwarranted comparisons,” Suleiman said.

The Northern Awareness Network emphasized that Nigeria’s electoral system is still developing and that comparing it to South Africa’s more mature democracy is both inaccurate and unfair to Nigerians who are working towards building a functional democracy.