WorldStage— The Chairman of the Northern Christian Association (NCA), Rev. Joseph John Hayab, has said that Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir’s comments Muslim-Muslim joint ticket have permanently ended religious pretence in Nigeria by bringing decades of hidden Christian marginalisation into the open.
The escalating controversy centers on a viral video from an event in Kano organized by the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) during which Sheikh Jingir defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections, urging Muslims to use their numerical dominance to pursue their political interests while openly referring to Christians as infidels.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Hayab noted that Nigeria has long lived in a lie of unified citizenship.
He emphasized that Northern Christians have experienced
discrimination for decades, but Sheikh Jingir simply brought what happens in secret into the public sphere.
Hayab expressed deep concern that the derogatory remarks were made openly in the presence of prominent leaders—including Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi, who he said smiled and cheered rather than rebuked the speech.
To permanently address unverified claims of demographic supremacy used to justify political exclusion, the NCA chairman called on the Federal Government to include religious affiliation in Nigeria’s next national census.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) clarified that while it respects the rights of any group to campaign for preferred candidates, the use of provocative, hateful language risks tearing the country’s fragile security apart. Prominent figures and civil society groups have widely condemned the cleric’s remarks for undermining Nigeria’s constitutional secularism.
