Peter Obi, the Labour Party's presidential candidate, has come under criticism from the Northern Awareness Network for statements he made about the outcome of the just-concluded South African presidential election.
Obi had compared the electoral processes of both Nigeria and South Africa, lamenting the disparities in transparency.
The northern group, however, dismissed his comparison as misleading and deceptive.
Salihu Suleiman, the group's chairman, noted in a statement that South Africa has a long history of democracy and has seen major political reforms over the decades. Nigeria on the other hand, only transitioned to democracy in 1999 after years of military rule.
According to Suleiman, Obi's effort to compare the election experiences of the two countries shows a lack of knowledge of the political landscapes of each of them.
“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,” he said.
The group went on to say that Nigeria’s electoral system is still in its infancy, and comparing it to South Africa’s more mature democracy is misleading and unfair to the Nigerian people, who have been working diligently to build a democracy that works.
