Reno Omokri Urges Southerners to Respect ‘Aboki’, Highlights Kano’s Wealth and History

 

Abuja, 10 June 2026— Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has urged Southern Nigerians to reconsider their use of the term ‘Aboki’, saying it is often used as an insult despite Kano’s long history of wealth, power and scholarship.

Omokri made the call in a statement on Monday after a respondent on his social media post about Nigeria’s debt profile called him an ‘Ewu Hausa’ and said he “looks like an Aboki from Kano”.

Questioning the Insult

“Why do some people see that as an insult?” Omokri asked. He argued that in terms of historical wealth, political influence and intellectualism, “no other city in Nigeria can compete with Kano”, but many Southerners look down on the North and Kano in particular.

“If you really want to be influential in Nigeria, you can achieve this by learning as much as you can about Kano and why that metropolis has dominated wealth and power in West Africa for centuries,” he wrote.

Kano’s Political and Intellectual Contributions

Omokri cited late Head of State Gen. Murtala Ramat Muhammed as Kano’s “most loved leader” and late Gen. Sani Abacha as its “most hated”, noting that only Minna has produced two Nigerian leaders, in Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. He added that Abeokuta would have shared that record if Chief MKO Abiola’s 1993 election victory had not been annulled.

On scholarship, he referenced the Kano Chronicles, which document events from the 10th century in Ajami script, a fusion of Arabic and Hausa. He said the chronicles’ advantage is their depth and use of a quasi-indigenous script compared to older works by Benin, Itsekiri and Kanuri writers.

Education and Wealth  

Omokri claimed Kano is unique in having three distinct state-owned universities: Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil; Sa’adatu Rimi University of Education; and Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano. He added that Kano has over ten private universities and “almost 400” students on foreign scholarships for Master’s and PhD programmes.

He said Kano’s wealth predates modern Nigeria, citing Alhaji Alhassan Dantata, great-grandfather of Aliko Dangote, who was reportedly the wealthiest man in West Africa at his death on 17 August 1955. Dantata’s son, Sanusi Dantata, was recognised by Time Magazine as Nigeria’s richest person in the 1960s.

Omokri also named Africa’s two richest men, Aliko Dangote and Abdul Samad Rabiu, as Northerners from Kano with Hausa and Fulani origins. He stressed that neither built their wealth through government positions or contracts.

“Since records started being kept from 1914 to date, there has NEVER been a time that a Southerner was the richest man in Nigeria, including Chief Abiola. All of Nigeria’s official wealthiest persons have always been Northerners. They are just not as loud as we are!” he stated.

Call for Rethink

Omokri, who identifies as a Southerner, said Kanawa “are not loud and do not have that useless ‘money na water’ arrogant attitude”. 

“So, as a Southerner, I urge you to rethink the term ‘Aboki’,” he concluded. He signed the statement as “Reno Omokri, Ambassador Designate to Mexico.”

The post has since generated debate online over ethnic stereotypes and perceptions of Northern Nigeria.