NOW HEAR THIS Nigerians all over the world. Muslim – Muslim IGNORANCE. ” My people perish due to the lack of KNOWLEDGE, a people without understanding shall stumble, fall and come to ruin. ” —- Holy Torah, Holy Bible and Holy Quran.
*WHEN FAITH BECOMES A POLITICAL WEAPON:* *JINGIR, THE MUSLIM-MUSLIM TICKET AND THE DANGEROUS POLITICS OF RELIGIOUS DOMINANCE*
By Ibrahim Bunu
There are moments in the life of a nation when words become more than words.
They become signals.
They become political weapons.
They become invitations to fear.
And sometimes, if responsible people fail to intervene early enough, they become the vocabulary through which tomorrow’s conflict is prepared.
The recent remarks attributed to Sheikh Yahaya Jingir at a political gathering in Kano fall into this dangerous category.
According to reports and a video from the event, Sheikh Jingir urged Muslims to prepare their Permanent Voter Cards and called on them to demonstrate that those he described as “infidels” had not outnumbered Muslims in Nigeria. He also reiterated his support for the continuation of Muslim-Muslim presidential tickets. (Punch Newspapers)
That is not merely another political speech.
It is precisely the kind of rhetoric that should concern every responsible Nigerian—Muslim and Christian alike.
And let me make my position absolutely clear from the beginning:
I am not opposed to Muslims supporting Muslim candidates.
Muslims have every constitutional right to organise politically, vote for Muslims, campaign for Muslim candidates and persuade other Nigerians to support their political choices.
Christians have exactly the same right.
Traditionalists have the same right.
Every Nigerian has the same right.
The problem begins when political competition is transformed into a religious contest of “us versus them,” where fellow citizens are described as outsiders, enemies or people who must be shown “their limit.”
That is where politics stops being democratic competition and starts becoming a struggle for religious dominance.
And Nigeria cannot afford that.
*THE FIRST THING WE MUST GET RIGHT: NIGERIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ONE RELIGION*
Nigeria belongs to Nigerians.
Not Muslims.
Not Christians.
Not traditionalists.
Not any ethnic group.
Not any political party.
Not any cleric.
The 1999 Constitution expressly provides that neither the Federal Government nor a state government shall adopt a religion as a state religion. Section 38 also guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to manifest and practise one’s religion. (Nigeria Rights Commission)
That constitutional principle matters enormously.
Because once a Nigerian begins saying:
“Nigeria belongs to us because we are the majority,”
the immediate question becomes:
What happens to Nigerians who do not belong to “us”?
And that is exactly where the danger begins.
A democracy is not a football match where the winning side owns the stadium.
A majority wins elections.
A majority does not acquire ownership of the country.
If 55 percent of Nigerians vote for a candidate, the remaining 45 percent do not become foreigners.
They remain citizens.
They retain their rights.
They retain their dignity.
They retain their homes.
They retain their churches, mosques, businesses, farms, schools and communities.
Democracy produces governments, not religious landlords.
*LET US ALSO STOP LYING TO OURSELVES ABOUT THE NUMBERS*
One of the most troubling dimensions of this debate is the attempt to turn uncertain religious demographics into a weapon of political mobilisation.
Nigeria has not had a recent national census that provides a definitive contemporary religious breakdown.
Pew Research Center estimates based on demographic data put Muslims at 56.1 percent and Christians at 43.4 percent of Nigeria’s population in 2020. Pew also estimates that Nigeria had roughly 120 million Muslims and 93 million Christians in 2020. (Pew Research Center)
These figures are important for one reason:
Both communities are enormous.
This is not a country where one tiny religious community can simply be ignored.
Nigeria is simultaneously home to one of the world’s largest Muslim populations and one of the world’s largest Christian populations. (Pew Research Center)
That should make us humble.
Not arrogant.
It should teach us coexistence.
Not domination.
The real Nigerian political genius is not the ability to prove that “our” religion has more people.
It is the ability to build a political coalition large enough to accommodate people who do not share our faith.
*THE REAL PROBLEM IS NOT THE MUSLIM-MUSLIM TICKET*
Let us be intellectually honest.
A Muslim-Muslim ticket is not automatically unconstitutional.
Nor is a Christian-Christian ticket automatically unconstitutional.
Nigeria’s Constitution does not require a presidential candidate to choose a running mate of another religion.
Therefore, the argument should not be:
“Muslim-Muslim is inherently wrong.”
That argument is too simplistic.
The more important question is:
Why are the candidates being chosen?
If two Muslims are chosen because they possess the competence, character, experience, political capacity, integrity and electoral strength required to govern Nigeria, citizens can debate whether they are the best candidates.
If two Christians are similarly chosen in the future, Nigerians should equally judge them on their competence, character and capacity.
But if a ticket is promoted on the basis that:
“We must maintain religious dominance and show the other religion its limit,”
then we have crossed into very dangerous territory.
That is no longer merely candidate selection.
That is religious mobilisation for political supremacy.
And there is a profound difference between the two.
*THE 5 WHYS: WHY SHOULD JINGIR’S LANGUAGE CONCERN EVERY NIGERIAN?*
*WHY #1 — Why use religious identity as the primary political weapon?*
Because it converts an election from a competition over ideas into a competition over religious numbers.
Instead of asking:
* Who will secure Nigeria?
* Who will create jobs?
* Who will reform education?
* Who will fix electricity?
* Who will defeat terrorism?
* Who will strengthen the naira?
* Who will reform the judiciary?
* Who will improve healthcare?
We begin asking:
“How many Muslims do we have?”
and
“How many Christians do they have?”
That is intellectual regression.
*WHY #2 — Why describe fellow citizens as “infidels”?*
Because language matters.
Religious terminology has theological contexts, but once it is deployed in a political speech to distinguish one bloc of Nigerian voters from another, it acquires a political meaning.
A Nigerian Christian is not an enemy of Nigeria because he is Christian.
A Nigerian Muslim is not an enemy of Nigeria because he is Muslim.
And neither group should be politically dehumanised.
If you want their vote, persuade them.
Do not insult them.
If you want to defeat them politically, defeat their candidate at the ballot box.
Do not tell them they do not belong.
*WHY #3 — Why is “Nigeria belongs to us” particularly dangerous?*
Because citizenship cannot be conditional on religious identity.
The moment one group claims ownership of the nation, every other group begins wondering whether it is merely a tolerated guest.
That is unacceptable.
Nigeria is not a religious estate inherited by one community.
It is a constitutional republic.
The Christian farmer in Kaduna is Nigerian.
The Muslim trader in Kano is Nigerian.
The Christian civil servant in Sokoto is Nigerian.
The Muslim businessman in Lagos is Nigerian.
The traditionalist in Benue is Nigerian.
The citizen who practises no religion is Nigerian.
The passport does not carry a religious qualification.
WHY #4 — Why does this matter for the 2027 election?
Because elections are won by coalitions.
No serious presidential campaign should deliberately alienate millions of citizens.
The 2027 election will not be decided simply by who can produce the loudest religious crowd at a rally.
It will be decided by turnout, geography, performance, economic conditions, candidate credibility, party structures, coalition-building and voter preferences.
And that means politicians who want to win nationally must understand a basic political reality:
Nigeria is too large and too diverse to be captured by one identity alone.
Even where one religious group has a numerical advantage nationally, that does not mean every state, region, senatorial district or constituency follows the same pattern.
A presidential candidate needs a coalition.
A coalition requires trust.
Religious triumphalism destroys trust.
WHY #5 — Why should Muslims themselves reject this rhetoric?
Because defending Christians from religious provocation is not an anti-Muslim position.
It is a pro-Nigeria position.
And Muslims should not allow the reckless statements of individual clerics to become the definition of Islam in Nigeria.
There are millions of Nigerian Muslims who live peacefully with Christians.
They conduct business together.
They attend schools together.
They work together.
They marry into families across religious boundaries.
They defend one another.
They raise children together.
They share neighbourhoods.
They share markets.
They share political parties.
They share the same national problems.
Those Muslims should not be politically represented by the loudest voice in the room.
The same principle applies to Christians.
One extremist Christian does not represent Christianity.
One extremist Muslim does not represent Islam.
One irresponsible politician does not represent every member of his party.
We must learn to separate individuals from entire communities.
*THE DANGEROUS SLIPPERY SLOPE*
There is another reason responsible Nigerians should pay attention.
Religious politics rarely stops where it begins.
Today the argument may be:
“Vote for Muslims because we are Muslims.”
Tomorrow it becomes:
“Muslims should control the presidency.”
Then:
“Christians should not occupy certain positions.”
Then:
“Christians are guests.”
Then:
“Christians should leave.”
That progression is not inevitable.
But history teaches us that political exclusion becomes easier when society first normalises language that makes fellow citizens appear less entitled to belong.
That is why responsible leaders must intervene early.
Not after violence.
Not after riots.
Not after blood has been spilled.
Before.
*THE GOVERNOR’S PRESENCE MUST ALSO BE HANDLED CAREFULLY*
I would also caution against making claims that cannot be established.
Reports confirm that Kano Governor Abba Yusuf and Jigawa Governor Umar Namadi were among APC governors present at the event where Jingir made the remarks. (Punch Newspapers)
But attendance is not automatically endorsement.
If there is evidence that a political leader applauded, endorsed or encouraged the specific remarks, that evidence should be presented.
Otherwise, we should not turn an important national debate into another exercise in political exaggeration.
This is precisely the kind of issue where facts matter more than emotion.
If we condemn religious misinformation, we must not replace it with political misinformation.
*THE DAMAGE TO THE APC AND PRESIDENT TINUBU*
This is where the political consequences become particularly serious.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima are seeking political legitimacy across Nigeria—not merely within the Muslim population.
Whatever one’s opinion of the administration, the political reality is straightforward:
A presidential government must govern Christians and Muslims alike.
Therefore, anybody presenting the Muslim-Muslim ticket as an instrument for religious dominance is potentially creating a political problem for the very political project he claims to support.
The irony is enormous.
A person may believe he is defending the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
But by describing it as a mechanism for maintaining Muslim dominance, he can unintentionally strengthen the argument of those who oppose the ticket.
That is politically self-defeating.
A political ticket should be defended with:
competence.
performance.
character.
experience.
results.
economic transformation.
security.
infrastructure.
institutional reform.
Not with:
“Show the infidels their limit.”
That is not a winning national message.
It is a mobilisation strategy for a religious bloc.
There is a difference.
*THE AMERICAN DIMENSION CANNOT BE IGNORED*
Nigeria is already facing intense international scrutiny over allegations of religious persecution and violence.
Whatever one’s assessment of those allegations, inflammatory statements from influential religious figures do not help Nigeria’s diplomatic position.
They can be clipped.
Translated.
Broadcast internationally.
Detached from context.
And used by people who already believe Nigeria is drifting toward religious domination.
That is why leaders must understand that in the age of social media, a local political speech can become an international foreign-policy problem within hours.
Every reckless sentence now has a passport.
*BUT LET US ALSO BE FAIR: FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS NOT THE ENEMY*
I do not believe every offensive statement should automatically become a matter for the security agencies.
A democratic society must protect freedom of expression and religious expression.
Section 38 of the Constitution protects freedom of religion, while Section 39 protects freedom of expression. (Nigeria Rights Commission)
Therefore, any state response must remain within the law.
The appropriate approach is not arbitrary intimidation.
It is lawful assessment.
If speech crosses a legal threshold into incitement, threats or other offences, the appropriate authorities should investigate according to due process.
If it does not, political parties, religious leaders, civil society and citizens should answer it through democratic criticism.
The antidote to dangerous speech in a democracy is not censorship without law. It is truth, accountability, responsible leadership and lawful enforcement.
*WHAT SHOULD SHEIKH JINGIR DO NOW?*
The best thing would be simple.
Clarify.
Retract the language that unnecessarily insults Christians.
Acknowledge that Nigeria belongs equally to all citizens.
Separate his personal religious preference from the constitutional rights of other Nigerians.
And make clear that supporting a Muslim-Muslim ticket does not mean supporting discrimination against Christians.
That would not make him weak.
It would make him responsible.
Leadership is not measured by how loudly one can provoke one’s followers.
Leadership is measured by whether one can restrain one’s followers when restraint is necessary.
*WHAT SHOULD MUSLIM LEADERS DO?*
Muslim leaders should speak.
Not because Christians need Muslims to defend them.
But because Muslims have a responsibility to prevent the weaponisation of Islam for political domination.
The overwhelming majority of Nigerian Muslims should not be defined by one man’s rhetoric.
If they believe Nigeria belongs to everyone, they should say so loudly.
If they believe Christians are fellow citizens, they should say so loudly.
If they support a Muslim-Muslim ticket, they should explain why on the basis of governance and political strategy—not religious supremacy.
That is how mature political Islam should conduct itself in a constitutional democracy.
*WHAT SHOULD CHRISTIAN LEADERS DO?*
Christians must also resist the temptation to answer religious provocation with reciprocal religious provocation.
Do not turn Jingir into Islam.
He is one individual.
Do not turn his words into the words of 100 million Nigerians.
That would be the same mistake in reverse.
Condemn the statement.
Demand accountability.
Defend constitutional rights.
But continue building bridges with ordinary Muslims.
Because the Muslim neighbour who condemns religious extremism is not your enemy.
The Muslim friend who protects your family is not your enemy.
The Muslim colleague who works with you every day is not your enemy.
Nigeria’s Muslims are not Jingir.
And Nigeria’s Christians are not the people Jingir described.
*THE BIGGER LESSON: POLITICS MUST NOT BECOME A RELIGIOUS CENSUS*
I fear that Nigerian politics is gradually becoming obsessed with counting human beings by identity.
How many Muslims?
How many Christians?
How many Northerners?
How many Southerners?
How many Hausa?
How many Fulani?
How many Christians in Kaduna?
How many Muslims in Plateau?
How many votes belong to which religion?
This is the politics of fragmentation.
A nation cannot develop if every election becomes a census of grievances.
At some point, we must ask a more intelligent question:
What kind of Nigeria do we want to build?
A Nigeria where Muslims defeat Christians?
Or Christians defeat Muslims?
Neither.
We should want a Nigeria where bad governance is defeated by good governance.
Where insecurity is defeated by competent security institutions.
Where poverty is defeated by opportunity.
Where corruption is defeated by accountability.
Where religious hatred is defeated by citizenship.
Where political incompetence is defeated by competence.
That is the Nigeria worth fighting for.
*THE AUTOPSY: WHAT EXACTLY WENT WRONG?*
Let us strip away the emotion.
The problem has at least six layers.
1. Religion was converted into political identity.
2. Political opponents were described through religious language.
3. Religious demographics were turned into a mobilisation weapon.
4. The concept of national citizenship was subordinated to religious belonging.
5. The rhetoric risked damaging the very political coalition it claimed to strengthen.
6. Nigeria’s already fragile interfaith environment was subjected to unnecessary provocation.
That is why this cannot simply be dismissed as another politician making another speech.
Words matter.
Particularly when spoken by people with enormous influence over their followers.
*THE STRATEGIC LESSON FOR 2027*
If the APC genuinely believes the Tinubu-Shettima ticket deserves another mandate, then the campaign must be fought on a much higher intellectual plane.
Do not campaign:
“Vote for us because we are Muslims.”
Campaign:
“Vote for us because we can govern.”
Do not say:
“Show Christians their limit.”
Say:
“Show Nigerians what competent government can accomplish.”
Do not tell Christians they are outsiders.
Tell them:
“You are citizens, and your vote matters.”
Do not tell Muslims that political power belongs exclusively to them.
Tell them:
“Your faith is respected, your citizenship is secure, and your political choice is yours.”
That is how you build a national coalition.
*AND ONE DAY, THERE MAY BE A CHRISTIAN-CHRISTIAN TICKET*
Why not?
If Nigeria’s political circumstances one day produce a Christian-Christian presidential ticket whose candidates possess the competence, integrity, capacity and electoral strength to govern, Christians should have the constitutional right to support it.
And Muslims should not be threatened by it.
The same standard must apply to everybody.
If we demand religious tolerance when we are the minority, we must practise it when we are the majority.
That is the real test of faith.
That is the real test of democracy.
That is the real test of leadership.
⸻
*MY FINAL APPEAL*
Sheikh Jingir should reconsider the language he used.
Not because Muslims have no right to organise.
Not because Christians have a right to veto Muslim candidates.
Not because Muslim-Muslim tickets are inherently illegitimate.
But because Nigeria is bigger than any ticket.
Nigeria is bigger than APC.
Nigeria is bigger than PDP.
Nigeria is bigger than Labour Party.
Nigeria is bigger than ADC.
Nigeria is bigger than Tinubu.
Nigeria is bigger than Atiku.
Nigeria is bigger than Peter Obi.
Nigeria is bigger than any governor.
Nigeria is bigger than any bishop.
Nigeria is bigger than any imam.
And Nigeria is certainly bigger than any individual cleric.
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