- Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, pushed back against a viral claim by Sheikh Yahaya Jingir about the Muslim majority in Nigeria
- Fani-Kayode posted his reaction on his verified X account on Sunday, August 9, calling the rhetoric provocative and unhelpful
- The former minister also addressed the Muslim/Muslim ticket of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima for the 2027 elections, insisting religion should be kept out of politics
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over nine years of experience covering politics, elections, and governance in Nigeria and Africa.
Jos, Plateau state – Nigeria‘s ambassador-designate to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has fired back at Plateau-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Yahaya Jingir after a video of the cleric claiming Muslims outnumber Christians in Nigeria went viral online.
Legit.ng reports that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain took to his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday, August 9, to challenge the Islamic cleric’s position directly, describing the comments as extreme, unhelpful, and dangerous to national unity.
Source: Facebook
While expressing personal respect for the cleric, Fani-Kayode was firm in his disagreement.
He wrote:
“The extremist rhetoric he has indulged in here is most unhelpful, and neither is it true.”
FFK, as Fani-Kayode is popularly called, added:
“Kindly take note that it is a very slippery and dangerous slope to take and is best avoided.”
‘Nigeria is a secular nation,’ insists Fani-Kayode
The former aviation minister was clear about how he views Nigeria’s identity:
“Nigeria is NOT a Muslim country and neither is she a Christian country. She is a SECULAR and MULTI-RELIGIOUS state comprising of BOTH Christians and Muslims in equal numbers and that is our strength.”
Fani-Kayode also addressed questions about the Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket his camp is backing ahead of the 2027 general elections, explaining that religion played no part in the decision.
He stated:
“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.”
He went further to suggest the possibility of a Christian/Christian ticket at some point in the future, saying, “One day we may have a Christian/Christian ticket too because with God all things are possible.”
A call for unity ahead of 2027 elections
Fani-Kayode called on Nigerians to set aside religious differences and focus on governance and policy. He argued that the Christian community had fared better under the current administration than during the 2015 to 2023 period, despite that earlier government running on a Muslim/Christian ticket.
“We must not allow this issue to divide our ranks,” he wrote. “We are NIGERIANS before being Christian or Muslim and we must not only stand as ONE but also go to the polls as ONE.”
He closed by drawing on the 2023 presidential election as a model, saying his side overcame religious intolerance to win that contest and expressed confidence the same would happen again in 2027.
Watch Sheikh Yahaya Jingir’s viral video below via X:
Read more on Femi Fani-Kayode
Fani-Kayode sends message to opposition
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Fani-Kayode reflected on the early and preliminary preparations for the 2027 presidential election.
The APC chieftain, assessing the likely presidential candidates, said none of them has the capacity to unseat President Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
Source: Legit.ng