11/09/2026
OPE-D: Those Who Call General Christopher Musa A Bigot Do Not Really Know Him, By Suleiman Abubakar Kinkinau
There are times when public figures get judged not by the people who actually know them, but by assumptions, rumours, political narratives, and statements picked up out of context. General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd.) seems to be one of those personalities who draws wildly different descriptions depending on who you ask. Some people have even gone as far as calling him a bigot. Honestly, though, I don't think those making that claim really know the man beyond whatever they've heard or read secondhand.
I've had the privilege of being around General Musa and of interacting with people who've worked closely with him, and three things consistently stand out: boldness, bluntness, and openness. He isn't the type to hide his position just to keep everyone comfortable. When he believes something is right, he says so. When he disagrees, he makes that known too. That directness can be misread, especially by people encountering him for the first time or judging him off a single statement without knowing the person behind it. But being blunt isn't the same as being a bigot. Being bold isn't the same as hating people. And speaking openly isn't evidence of discrimination.
If someone genuinely wants to understand General Musa's character, I'd suggest looking past the social media arguments and instead at the people who've actually worked closely with him: who he trusts, who has served directly under him, and the range of backgrounds represented among those who've stayed close to him over the years.
Take his Chief Security Officer, Major Bature from Sokoto State, as one example. Major Bature originally served as his ADC when he was a Captain, and rather than moving him along after his promotion, Musa kept him on in another position of trust as his CSO. Anyone familiar with military and security structures knows that a CSO role demands a high level of confidence. That relationship alone tells a different story than the one some people are trying to paint.
Then there's Alhaji Hussaini Kashim, Special Adviser on General Duties, a Muslim with deep ties to the Muslim community in Kaduna State and a cousin of the respected Islamic scholar Sheikh Dr. Tukur Adam Al-Manar. There's also Major General A.K. Ibrahim, a Muslim from Yobe State, and Bar Anas Aliyu Maigoro, Special Adviser on Legal Matters, a Muslim from Nasarawa State, along with others such as Alhaji Musa Kalil, Hon. Abubakar Mahmud Jarman Abakwa, Alhaji Sambo from Zamfara, and Alhaji Saidu Adamu, all of whom have maintained close relationships with him. I count myself, Suleiman Abubakar Kinkinau, among that circle as well.
So what does this actually tell us? That the reality of a person can't always be understood from accusations alone. If General Musa were truly the religious bigot some people make him out to be, you'd expect his inner circle to reflect a deliberate exclusion of people from other religious and ethnic backgrounds. That isn't what I've personally observed. I have Muslim colleagues and associates around him, but he also has Christian brothers from Southern Kaduna and other parts of the country close to him. We work with him and relate with him without ever being made to feel our religious identities determine our worth in his eyes, and that matters.
Nigeria is a country where religion and ethnicity can easily breed suspicion. A Christian can look at a Muslim and assume the worst, and a Muslim can do the same in reverse. A person from the North gets judged by another Northerner's actions; someone from Southern Kaduna can just as easily be judged for what another person from Southern Kaduna has done. This is exactly how stereotypes take root, and once they do, even ordinary actions start getting filtered through suspicion. That's precisely why I think we need to be careful before slapping labels on people.
General Musa has served the Nigerian state in sensitive, demanding roles, and like any public figure, he can be criticised. Nobody is above that, and nobody should be shielded from legitimate questions because of their position or record. But criticism should rest on facts. If someone disagrees with a position he's taken, let's debate the position. If someone thinks he made a wrong statement, let's examine the statement. If there's real evidence of discrimination, let that evidence be presented and discussed. What we shouldn't do is leap from disagreement straight to the conclusion that a man hates an entire religious or ethnic group. That's an extremely serious accusation to make.
I also think Nigerians need to draw a clearer line between representation and discrimination. The fact that the people around someone aren't split evenly along religious lines doesn't automatically mean discrimination is happening. Sometimes people simply work with those they've built trust with over many years. Sometimes professional relationships grow out of shared assignments and experiences. Sometimes people stay together because of competence, loyalty, and mutual understanding. In General Musa's case, the people associated with him come from a genuine mix of states, ethnicities, and religious backgrounds, which is why I find it hard to reconcile the blanket "bigot" label with what I've actually experienced.
I am a Muslim, and many of the people I've named are Muslims too. But General Musa also has Christian colleagues and associates, including people from Southern Kaduna, and none of us are treated as second-class simply because of our faith. At the same time, I've never seen him treat his Christian brothers as unworthy of his trust because they're Christian.
This is the General Musa that people outside his circle may never get to see. They hear the blunt statement; we see the man who can sit down, listen, and maintain relationships despite differences. They judge him through political narratives; we judge him through personal interaction. There's a real difference there.
None of this is to suggest General Musa is perfect. He's human, and like every other Nigerian, he makes mistakes. Nor am I saying everyone has to agree with him. What I am saying is simple: don't call a man a bigot just because you disagree with him or because his communication style makes you uncomfortable. Get closer. Talk to the people who've worked with him. Look at his relationships and the diversity of the people around him. Then form your judgment.
Nigeria badly needs people who can see past religious and ethnic sentiment. We've suffered enough from the politics of suspicion, from letting religion become a weapon and ethnicity a permanent line of division. At a moment when the country needs unity, responsible leadership, and mutual understanding, we should think twice before throwing around labels that only divide us further.
For me, General Christopher Musa remains a man whose boldness, bluntness, and openness are among his most defining qualities. You're free to disagree with his opinions, challenge his decisions, even strongly criticise his public statements. That's your right. But before calling him a bigot, I'd simply ask you to get to know the man beyond the headlines, because the person described by outsiders is often quite different from the one known by those who've actually worked and interacted with him.
As someone who has had the opportunity to be among those close to him, I felt it was important to put that perspective on record.
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