10/08/2026
UPDATE: “𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘, 𝗜 𝗨𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦. 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗨𝗦 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗟𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗨𝗦. 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 𝗟𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗧. 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗔 𝗜𝗦 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗠 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗗𝗢𝗡’𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗣𝗧 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗠-𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗠 𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧, 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗔 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗜𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗨𝗦. 𝗜𝗙 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗠-𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗠 𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗔 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝗨𝗦. 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗪𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗠-𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗠 𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗨𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗗𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗗"- 𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗞𝗛 𝗬𝗔𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗔 𝗝𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗜𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗠𝗦.
I received over 100 frantic calls and messages of deep concern from both Christians and Muslims over the weekend after Sheik Yahaya Jingir's comments at a Kano event were made public.
There is only one thing worse and that saddened me more than what he said and that is to have seen my friend and brother the Governor of Kano state, cheering him on and celebrating it.
We will not keep quiet and watch our faith being dragged all over the floor because of politics.
Matters of faith and salvation are far more important than anything we see or get in this world.
Politics and earthly power come and go but faith and the after life is eternal.
This divisive rhetoric has to stop and we should stop playing with fire.
You do not talk like that in a country with over 120 million Christians and over 120 Muslims all living in the same space and if you insist on doing so you are looking for trouble and stoking a cataclysmic crisis which nobody wants, which will consumme us all and which we must avoid at all costs.
This is especially so when we are already being falsely accused of Christian genocide and of harbouring an agenda to Islamise the country and do away with all Christians by some of our American friends.
Jingir is not only feeding into that false narrative with his reckless words but he is also endangering the chances of our candidates in the 2027 presidential election because in order for us to win we need BOTH Muslim AND Christian votes.
What he has done is given the opposition something to hold on to and use against us and this is unfortunate.
There is no Christian that will support a party that regards members of his or her faith as infidels and I am glad that many Muslims across party lines have condemned his outrageous comments.
Jingir does not represent the feelings of the APC and neither does he speak for us. He only speaks for himself.
He must be called to order and if he insists on delving into politics he should do so with decency, restraint, respect to all and decorum and leave religion out of it.
You cannot hurt the feelings of others, denigrate their beliefs, insult their faith and treat their most sacred values and beliefs with such contempt and expect them to keep quiet, not protest and continue to stand by you.
A man's faith, whether Christian or Muslim, must be respected and no religious faith is greater or more important than the other.
We are all one before God and we should live in peace with one another always showing each other love and respect which both the Koran and the Bible talks about.
Jingir should be invited by the DSS and formally cautioned before he sets this country in fire.
Permit me to add the following.
The extremist rhetoric that he is indulging in is not only unhelpful but is also unacceptable.
Worse of all is the fact that what he has said is NOT TRUE and is highly provocative.
He and those who share his views should take note of the following and be advised:
1) Christians are NOT infidels, we are Believers.
2) NOBODY is going anywhere because this is our country.
3) The slippery slope that the Sheik has chosen to take is a very dangerous one and it is best avoided.
4) Nigeria is NOT a Muslim country and neither is she a Christian country.
5) Nigeria is a SECULAR and MULTI-RELIGIOUS state comprising of BOTH Christians and Muslims in equal numbers and that is our strength.
6) We are supporting a Muslim/Muslim ticket for 2027, as we did in 2023, only because of the calibre, ability, sincerity of purpose, character, utility and electoral strength of our Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and their ability to deliver and not because they are Muslims.
7) Just as we have a Muslim Muslim ticket today we will also have a Christian Christian ticket one day in the future because with God all things are possible.
9) We must leave religion out of politics and consider issues, policies and personalities instead.
10) Sheik Jingir does NOT represent or reflect the thinking of the majority of Nigerian Muslims but only a tiny minority of extremists.
11) Sheik Jingir has done immense damage to President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Imam by talking in this way and I suspect that he is secretly working against them.
12) I urge Sheik Jingir to apologise to the Church and the Christians in Nigeria, to be more circumspect and cautious when he speaks and to tread on the path of peace, civility and reconciliation for the sake of our beloved country.
(FFK)
