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In an extraordinary twist that exposes the contradictions of Nigeria’s political landscape, the Sokoto prison—once an obscure correctional facility—has suddenly transformed into the most visited power-centre in the country. And all because of one man: Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
From judges, magistrates, military generals, high commissioners, governors, senators, ministry officials, to foreign envoys, the nation’s elite are trooping to the prison like pilgrims to a holy site.
What was supposed to be a place of punishment has become Nigeria’s newest tourist destination, and at the centre of it is a man the government hoped isolation would silence.
Instead, it has amplified him.
A CELEBRITY PRISONER LIKE NO OTHER
Prison warders, speaking with The Nation’s Eyes Newspaper under anonymity, confirmed that the rush to visit Kanu has become so overwhelming that the service has been forced to introduce a screening system.
Not because of security concerns—but because the visitation list for the entire year is already full.
“We have never seen anything like this,” one senior warder said.
“Top politicians and celebrities are begging—yes, begging—for access. Even those who used to distance themselves from him are now lobbying heavily.”
The road leading to the prison has become a daily carnival. Luxury SUVs, diplomatic vehicles, government convoys, celebrity entourages—even foreign journalists—are now a constant sight.
Hotels in the area report surges in bookings. Small businesses around the facility have seen their sales triple.
POLITICAL LEADERS SCRAMBLING FOR RELEVANCE
What makes the situation even more absurd is the fact that some of the same leaders who supported Kanu’s crackdown are now the ones desperately trying to be seen visiting him.
Why?
Because in today’s Nigeria, proximity to Nnamdi Kanu has become a political currency—a badge that signals influence among millions of restless youths.
This is not loyalty.
This is not repentance.
This is survival politics.
In private conversations across Abuja and Lagos, it is now openly said that “nobody wants to be left behind if things change tomorrow.”
And whether the government likes it or not, the Sokoto detention centre has become a stage for the powerful—each trying to secure a photograph, a handshake, or even a rumoured endorsement.
THE IRONY OF POWER
It is one of the great ironies of our time that a man held in confinement is receiving more visitors, more attention, and more global spotlight than some of the politicians sitting in their plush offices in Abuja.
While Nigeria burns with insecurity, kidnapping epidemics, mass poverty, and government paralysis, its top leaders are busy queuing up to visit a prisoner.
If this does not demonstrate the collapse of political legitimacy in Nigeria, what will?
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is no longer just a detainee..He has become a symbol—whether one agrees with him or not—of something the ruling elite can no longer ignore: the shifting centre of power in Nigeria.
And Sokoto has become the unexpected compass pointing to that reality.
