NIREC Condemns Sheikh Jingir’s Remarks, Says Nigeria is Not a Religious State

• Sultan, CAN President warn against weaponizing religion, call for retraction

By Ralph Madugu

The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, NIREC, has condemned recent remarks by Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, saying that words that promote religious triumphalism and threaten the citizenship rights of Nigerians are “dangerous” and undermine national unity.

In a statement issued Tuesday and signed by its Co-Chairmen, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Archbishop Daniel Okoh and IREC Executive Secretary, Prof. Cornelius Omonokhua, the Council described the comments by the National Chairman of the Council of Ulama of JIBWIS as a “grave disservice” to both Islam and national cohesion.

NIREC said it views the Sheikh’s utterances “with profound concern,” noting that rhetoric which frames democratic processes as tools for “absolute religious dominance” directly threatens the fragile peace of Nigeria’s multi-religious, multi-ethnic nation.

“No single individual, regardless of their religious or political standing, has the right to alienate any segment of the Nigerian population based on faith,” the statement said.

The Council specifically faulted suggestions that citizens who disagree with a particular political configuration should leave the country, calling it “deeply uncharitable” and “a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed to every Nigerian by the constitution.

The interfaith body stressed that Nigeria remains a secular, constitutional democracy despite the current Muslim-Muslim presidency of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

“The political reality of a Muslim-Muslim presidency… does not alter, transform, or dilute the secular, multi-religious status of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” NIREC stated.

Citing Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution, the Council reminded that “The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion.”

It added that political configurations are “temporary products of electoral strategies and democratic choices; they are not divine mandates for the suppression or marginalization of any religious group.”

“The Muslim-Muslim ticket was a political decision; it cannot, and must not, be weaponized by anyone to imply the dominance of one faith over another,” the statement read. “The current leadership bears a constitutional duty to govern for all Nigerians—Christians, Muslims, and traditionalists alike—without bias or favouritism.”

NIREC called on Sheikh Jingir to “deeply reflect on the weight of his words and immediately retract these divisive statements in the interest of national peace.”

The Council also urged security agencies to monitor individuals who “use the pulpit to incite religious tension and threaten national stability,” and ensure the law takes its course “when speech crosses the line into incitement.”

It commended political leaders, both Muslim and Christian, within and outside the ruling party, who have distanced themselves from what it called “dangerous rhetoric,” saying their rejection proves most Nigerians “value national unity above sectarian divisions.”

NIREC appealed to citizens to remain calm and resilient, and not to allow faith to be exploited for political gain.

“Faith should be a vehicle for healing, justice, unity, and moral rectitude, rather than a weapon for political polarization and exclusion,” the statement said.

“Let us remain steadfast in our commitment to a united, peaceful, and prosperous Nigeria where every citizen, regardless of how they worship God, can live in dignity, safety, and honour.”

Please follow and like us:

20