Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has asked the Sultan of Sokoto and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to publicly caution Islamic cleric Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir over comments attributed to him about Christians and Christianity.
Fani-Kayode made the call in a statement titled “The Gospel According to Sheik Jingir”, saying he was worried that the cleric’s reported remarks could heighten religious tension in Nigeria.
He said he was particularly concerned that Jingir reportedly said he had “no regrets” about comments he made at a recent public event.
According to Fani-Kayode, the remarks had upset both Christians and Muslims. He said he had spoken with some Northern Muslim governors and a prominent Muslim cleric who were also concerned about the comments.
He praised the Sultan for recently asking Christians and Muslims not to insult each other, describing the advice as “fatherly counsel”.
“I have immense respect and deep affection for the Sultan of Sokoto, the leader of the Muslim community in Nigeria, who urged Christians and Muslims not to insult one another a few days ago at a security conference in Abuja,” Fani-Kayode said.
He further said religious differences should not be allowed to destroy Nigeria’s unity, adding that Christians and Muslims deserved equal respect.
“I am a Nigerian Christian and I deserve to be respected for who and what I am just as every Nigerian Muslim deserves to be respected for who and what he is as well,” he said.
Fani-Kayode also rejected the idea that his position was motivated by hostility towards Islam.
“I have equal contempt for every Christian that seeks to demean, slander and disrespect Islam as I do for every Muslim that seeks to do same to Christianity,” he said.
On the 2023 Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, Fani-Kayode said his support was based on competence and did not mean Christians had accepted that Islam was superior to Christianity.
“Our belief is that these two great faiths are on an equal footing and that neither is superior to the other. We believe that religion is a matter of choice and that we have an obligation as Believers to respect one another and respect those choices,” he said.
He also criticised remarks suggesting that Christians were inferior or should leave Nigeria if they were unhappy with a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“Let me make this clear and I speak for millions: with those few words spoken at that public event which was televised before millions of Nigerians and members of the international community, Jingir has done more harm to the Muslim/Muslim ticket that he claims to support than anything and anyone else,” he said.
Fani-Kayode also rejected an alleged attempt to link the Maitatsine sect with Christians, saying violent extremist groups should not be associated with any religion.
He urged Nigerians and their leaders to protect peaceful relations between Christians and Muslims.
‘Jingir has done more harm to Muslim-Muslim ticket than anyone else’ – Fani-Kayode