Human rights lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju has berated Islamic cleric Sheikh Yahya Jingir over his recent remarks on the Muslim/Muslim ticket fielded by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Naija News reports that Jingir at a campaign event in Kano State for Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, had urged Muslims to support Muslim-Muslim presidential and other political tickets ahead of future elections.
He was quoted as referring to non-Muslims as “infidels” and urging his audience to “show the infidels their limit” at the polls
Jingir also alleged that members of the Maitatsine movement were “Christians in disguise” while discussing an attack on a mosque in Kano.
Reacting in a statement on Sunday, Adeyanju described Jingir’s comments as divisive and warned that religious rhetoric capable of setting Christians and Muslims against one another could deepen Nigeria’s existing divisions and threaten the country’s unity.
Adeyanju said, “I condemn the recent rhetoric of Sheikh Yahya Jingir and describe same as divisive and capable of fuelling religious tension in our beloved nation.
“Nigeria is a plural society, and our Constitution recognizes and protects that plurality. Religious leaders should respect Nigeria’s plurality and use their influence to promote peace and unity rather than sowing discord between Christians and Muslims.”
Adeyanju questioned whether the Muslim-Muslim ticket had translated into tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerians, arguing that political leadership should be assessed based on performance rather than religious identity.
“Has the Muslim-Muslim ticket put food on the tables of Nigerians, solved insecurity, unemployment, inflation, or strengthened the Nigerian passport and Nigeria’s standing in the world?
“We must look beyond religion and judge leadership by its impact on our lives as Nigerians,” he said.
The lawyer warned that rhetoric pitting one religious group against another could further aggravate tensions and encourage separatist and other forms of agitation.
“Any rhetoric that pits one faith against another is one that only deepens our divisions and fuels agitations across the country,” Adeyanju said.
He called on religious leaders and politicians to respect Nigeria’s religious, cultural and ethnic diversity.
“Clerics and politicians must stop provoking law-abiding citizens and learn to respect our different religions, cultures and ethnicities. Nigeria belongs to all of us,” he said.
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