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…Demands reactions from Tinubu, govs
From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The Chairman of the Northern Christian Association (NCA) in the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory, Rev. John Joseph Hayab, has challenged political and religious leaders to publicly condemn what he described as divisive and derogatory remarks against Christians by Islamic cleric, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir.
Hayab made the call on Monday while appearing on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, where he reacted to comments reportedly made by Jingir at an event in Kano on Saturday.
Jingir, while defending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim political arrangement, reportedly argued that Muslims should leverage their numerical strength to pursue their political interests and referred to Christians as ‘infidels’.
Reacting, Hayab said the remarks exposed what he described as the religious persecution and marginalisation Christians, particularly in Northern Nigeria, have allegedly experienced over the years.
According to him, Jingir’s comments had removed the pretense surrounding religious relations in the country, particularly as the remarks were allegedly made openly at a gathering attended by political leaders.
Hayab expressed concern that Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, and his Jigawa State counterpart, Umar Namadi, were present at the event and appeared to cheer the cleric while he made the controversial remarks.
He therefore challenged the two governors, the Federal Government and politicians being promoted by Jingir to publicly state their positions on the comments.
The NCA chairman said Nigerians were waiting to hear whether political leaders would condemn the remarks or remain silent over them.
Hayab also renewed the association’s call for religious affiliation to be included in Nigeria’s national census, arguing that this would provide credible data on the population of the country’s major religious groups.
He questioned why religion had continued to be excluded from census exercises while unverified claims about the numerical strength of religious groups were being used to influence political and religious debates.
According to him, credible demographic data would help end speculation and prevent Nigerians from using unverifiable population figures to insult, dominate or diminish fellow citizens.
Hayab stressed that Christians were not opposed to Muslims supporting candidates of their choice, noting that the election of the Tinubu-Shettima ticket was not based solely on Muslim votes.
He maintained that the ticket also received support from Christian communities and states, making it inaccurate to portray the political arrangement as an exclusively Muslim project.
The NCA chairman said the association’s concern was about fairness, inclusion, mutual respect and the need to avoid derogatory religious language in national discourse.
He urged political and religious leaders to concentrate on challenges such as hunger, insecurity and nation building instead of promoting rhetoric capable of deepening religious divisions.
Hayab described the situation as unfortunate, stressing that Nigeria needed unity and collective action to overcome its numerous challenges.
