The Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Distinguished Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, was among the guests at the annual Maukibi celebration of the Qadiriyya order at Darul Qadiriyya, Kabara, Kano, on Saturday, 3 October 2026.
The DG attended at the formal invitation of the Leader of the Qadiriyya Movement in Africa, His Eminence Sheikh Qaribullahi Sheikh Muhammad Nasiru Kabara.
The Maukibi is one of the largest religious gatherings in West Africa. Each year it draws followers of the Qadiriyya from every part of Nigeria and from neighbouring countries to Kano, in honour of Sheikh Abdulqadir al-Jilani, the founder of the order. This year's edition again filled the streets around Kabara with processions, banners and recitation from early morning.
The DG's reflection
In a message shared after the celebration, Senator Yari described the day in his own words:
"Today in Kano, I had the pleasure of joining Qadiriyya followers for their annual Maukibi Festival. It was a wonderful opportunity to share in a celebration of faith, unity and our rich Islamic heritage. May Almighty Allah continue to strengthen the bonds of peace, love and togetherness among our people. Ameen."
The journey to Kabara
The DG arrived at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on Saturday morning and was received by party leaders and supporters. He then paid a courtesy call at Kano State Government House, where he met the state's leadership and other guests who had travelled to Kano for the celebration.
From there the delegation made its way through heavy crowds to Darul Qadiriyya, where the DG was received by the host and seated with traditional rulers, senior Islamic scholars and dignitaries from several states.
Senator Yari later addressed the gathering. He thanked Sheikh Qaribullahi for the invitation, congratulated the Qadiriyya family on the success of the celebration and joined the congregation in prayers for peace and stability in Nigeria.
Why it matters
Kano is the most populous state in the North and one of the most important centres of Islamic scholarship in Africa. The Sufi orders, the Qadiriyya and the Tijjaniyya chief among them, reach deep into communities across the region. Their scholars teach, mediate disputes, counsel leaders and speak to millions of followers.
For the Presidential Campaign Council, engagement with religious and traditional institutions is part of the work of a national campaign. Those institutions do not belong to any party, and the Council does not ask them to. What the Council can do is show respect, listen, and make clear that the Tinubu-Shettima administration values the role they play in keeping the peace and holding communities together.
The DG's attendance at the Maukibi was in that spirit. He went as a guest, at the invitation of a respected leader of the faith, to share in a celebration that matters deeply to millions of Nigerians.
Unity across state lines
One of the striking things about the Maukibi is how far people travel to attend. The crowds at Kabara included followers from Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Bauchi and many other states, as well as visitors from beyond Nigeria's borders.
Senator Yari has spoken often about national unity as the foundation of everything the Council is trying to do. The campaign for 2027 is being built on the idea that Nigerians from every region have a stake in the Renewed Hope agenda, and that the country is stronger when its people work together than when they are divided by state, ethnicity or religion.
Gatherings like the Maukibi show that unity in practice. For a day, people from very different places stand side by side in prayer.
The Kabara tradition
The Maukibi is closely tied to the Kabara family, who have led the Qadiriyya in Kano for generations. The late Sheikh Muhammad Nasiru Kabara was among the most respected Islamic scholars of his time in West Africa, and his teaching shaped the order's growth across the region. His son, Sheikh Qaribullahi Sheikh Muhammad Nasiru Kabara, now leads the movement in Africa and hosts the annual celebration at Darul Qadiriyya.
The invitation extended to the DG reflected the long relationship between the Kabara family and leaders from across the North, and the family's tradition of welcoming people of different backgrounds to share in the Maukibi.
Respect for faith communities
Throughout his public life, as Governor of Zamfara State, as a Senator and now as Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Yari has kept close relationships with religious leaders of all backgrounds.
In his first weeks at the Council, the DG has stressed that the campaign will reach out to every faith community and every traditional institution in the country, with respect and without asking them to take sides. His presence at Kabara followed visits to religious leaders in Zamfara, including Sheikh Yusuf Sambo Rigachikum, and his attendance alongside the Sultan of Sokoto at the commissioning of the reconstructed Sambo Dan-Ashafa Jumu’at Mosque in Gusau.
Prayers for peace
The theme of peace ran through the day. Prayers at Kabara were offered for peace and stability in the North and across Nigeria, and for wisdom for the country's leaders.
The DG added his voice to those prayers, asking that the bonds of peace, love and togetherness among Nigerians continue to grow stronger.
Kano's place in the campaign
Kano has one of the largest voter populations in the country, and its people have a long record of active participation in elections. Any national campaign has to take the state seriously, and the Council intends to engage with its leaders, communities and institutions throughout the months ahead. The DG's visit for the Maukibi was not a campaign event, but it was a sign of the respect the Council has for the people of Kano and their traditions.
A national campaign, a national outlook
The Presidential Campaign Council's work over the coming months will take its members to every state of the federation. Much of it will be political in the ordinary sense: meetings with party structures, rallies and voter mobilisation.
But a national campaign also has to be present at the moments that matter to people outside politics: their faith, their traditions and their communities. The DG's visit to Kano for the Maukibi was one of those moments.
The Council congratulates Sheikh Qaribullahi Sheikh Muhammad Nasiru Kabara, the Qadiriyya family and the people of Kano on another peaceful and successful Maukibi.