Why Northern Nigeria must rally against religious, ethnic sentiments – NEF

The Northern Elders Forum, NEF, has explained why northern Nigerians must unite against religious and ethnic biases ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The forum stressed that sensitive identity issues must be properly managed in Northern Nigeria—and by extension, across the country—to prevent both the region and the nation from sliding into deeper ethno-religious fragmentation.

The Director-General of the Northern Elders Forum, Professor Doknan Sheni, made this known in a statement on Saturday following a meeting with the National Political Consultative Group held in Abuja.

Sheni called for the restoration of the policy of inclusiveness championed by the late Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

He noted that for the region to prepare effectively for the 2027 election cycle, massive enlightenment programmes must be undertaken to refocus voters on ideology, principles, and genuine party manifestos—rather than sentimental considerations.

He emphasised that political leaders across party lines must imbibe democratic culture, subordinate personal ambition to national interest, and abandon the “do-or-die” approach to politics.

“If the north is to prepare and unite for the 2027 election, there must be massive enlightenment programmes among the electorate so that the citizens vote based on ideology, principles and real manifestos of parties and candidates and not based on sentiments.

“For the north to unite towards the 2027 elections, there should be a summit of northern leaders sometime in the first quarter of 2026 or thereabouts to harmonise ideas and plan for the elections.

“There may be other political interests by other Nigerians to wedge and exploit political, religious and ethnic differences within northerners so that they could get inroads into the region. If we permit these differences among us to be exploited by other politicians outside our region, then we have agreed to be permanently divided.

“We should do everything possible to narrow and minimise these differences. No matter the cause of the disunity, when we Northerners close ranks and begin to treat one another with respect and with justice, most of the issues causing disunity will disappear. I will try and explore further the internal and external factors that may cause disunity among Northerners,” he stated.