I had thought the Presidency would respond to Jingir more ferociously than it had done to Cardinal John Onaiyekan, but days after the provocative and incendiary vituperations of Jingir, mum has been the word from the Presidency! How come? Who is afraid of rabid attack dogs pretending to defend Islam? I read another rabid so-called defender of the North accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of stripping the North and giving what belongs to it to the South! And what are those, if I may ask? They are national institutions that have long been monopolised for decades by the North to the total exclusion of the South. Now that just a few of them are also being extended to the South, bedlam!
But why is the Presidency quick to respond to critics from the South – and everyone condemning genocidal acts against Nigerian Christians – but take flight when the critics are of Northern origin? Is it fright? Or is it a display of Biblical wisdom? Proverbs 26: 4 says: ‘Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.’ I consider this Bible verse apt for the two so-called Northern folks mentioned above. But for the purpose of the general public, I think the Presidency should also consider the next verse, Proverbs 26: 5, which says: ‘Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.’
I therefore think it appropriate to bring this reader’s viewpoint to the attention of the President’s media minders: ‘…The deafening silence of the Presidency to the undisguised hate speech by the National Chairman of the Council of Ulama of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’Iqamatis Sunnah, Sheikh Sona Jingir, sends an unequivocal message of Federal Government’s tacit approval of his dangerous views.
‘This is in addition to the fact that at the event where Jingir gave his incendiary speech, the governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, and Jigawa’s Gov. Umar Namadi, were present and were caught on camera cheering.
‘Jingir infamously said: ‘I urge you to prepare your votes. Let us show the world that the infidels are lying when they say 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 for the Muslim-Muslim ticket, Christians in Nigeria would think they are more than us. This is why we must make sure the Muslim-Muslim ticket continues to succeed so that our dominance remains sustained.
‘With a Quranic injunction such as Surah At-Tawbah 9:5 that categorically specifies harsh treatment for infidels, and based on the several extra-judicial deaths that Islamists have meted out to Christians in Nigeria, including Deborah Samuel Yakubu who was falsely accused of blasphemy and killed by a Muslim mob on May 12, 2022, it is really of utmost concern that President Bola Tinubu and the Presidency’s media aides have not deemed it necessary to openly call Jingir to order the way they had Onaiyekan…
‘Of course, Nigeria is not an Islamic country, however hard Muslims like Jingir might try to make it one. Nor is there any census whatsoever to support the acrimonious lie that Muslims are the majority in Nigeria. But assuming for a moment that the atrocious and often-repeated lie is true, should that be a reason for attempting to subjugate the country under a religion that brooks no personal liberty?
‘Here’s a reminder: When Nigeria’s founding fathers fought for independence, the idea included freedom from fear. But fear-mongering is one weapon Islamists have not only continued to use against the rest of the country; they have also carried out pogroms against people of other faiths and ethnicities living among them in the region where Jingir made his criminal speech against Nigerian Christians.
‘This is not just a fight for the eternal and unstoppable continuation of Christianity in Nigeria. Rather, it is also a call to all well-meaning citizens and the international community to ensure that Nigeria is not made another Sudan or Somalia just because of the vaulting ambition of hate-mongering creatures like Jingir.’
My comments: Jingir is neither a supporter of Tinubu nor of his so-called Muslim-Muslim ticket. Jingir (or ‘jiga’, as my people would call it!) is an enemy (that must be extricated like the ‘jiga’ that he is!). He is only trying ingeniously to incite Christians against Tinubu. Why? Because he knows – and his ilk know – that Muslim votes alone cannot make or mar Tinubu’s electoral chances or those of his Muslim-Muslim ticket! Christians hold the aces!