Fresh perspectives have emerged over a proposed United States bill recommending sanctions against former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as US-based Professor of Journalism, Farooq Kperogi, questioned the historical basis of the allegations against him.
Kwankwaso, alongside the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, was listed in the proposed 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 proposes visa bans and asset freezes for individuals and entities accused of complicity in religious freedom violations in Nigeria.
In an opinion piece titled “Why Kwankwaso Was Singled Out in a US Bill,” Kperogi expressed surprise at the former governor’s inclusion, arguing that Kwankwaso’s political record does not align with claims 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.
Drawing from his experience as a journalist covering Kano politics in 2000, Kperogi recalled that Kwankwaso initially resisted the adoption of Sharia law amid mounting 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 quoted from his June 30, 2000 report in Weekly Trust.
Kperogi also cited Kwankwaso’s remarks during the formal launch of Sharia as evidence of moderation: “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,” he added.
According to Kperogi, Kwankwaso’s reluctance to aggressively implement Sharia later cost him political backing among Kano’s clerical establishment and contributed to his electoral loss in 2003.
He suggested that Kwankwaso’s current predicament may be linked to his criticism of the US decision to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over alleged 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,” Kperogi noted.
He referenced a social media post by US lawmaker Riley Moore which read: “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.”
Kperogi argued that “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, both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have dismissed the proposed sanctions.
Speaking to The Punch, APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, cautioned the United States against acting on unproven allegations.
“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, through its National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, described the move as blackmail and questioned why Kwankwaso was singled out among several northern governors who adopted Sharia.
Johnson noted that Kwankwaso ran in the 2023 presidential election with a Christian running mate and maintained cordial relationships with Christian leaders.
He also referenced Kwankwaso’s earlier warning against what he described as “oversimplified characterisations of Nigeria’s internal challenges” when US President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
The bill, which claims that Nigeria accounts for 82 per cent of Christians killed globally, remains at the introductory stage in the US Congress and must pass several legislative processes before it can become law.
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