Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has condemned Islamic cleric Sheikh Yahaya Jingir over his reported refusal to apologise for comments he made about Christians, describing the remarks as provocative and warning against the spread of religious intolerance in Nigeria.
Fani-Kayode said Jingir’s declaration that he had “zero regrets” about his comments had further deepened the controversy surrounding the cleric’s remarks.
In a statement, Fani-Kayode said he was particularly disappointed that Jingir, as a religious leader, had chosen not to retract what he described as offensive comments against Christians.
He, however, commended the Sultan of Sokoto for urging Christians and Muslims to refrain from insulting one another, describing the intervention as “fatherly counsel from a revered leader.”
Fani-Kayode also claimed that he had spoken with four Northern Muslim governors, including one who attended the event in Kano, and that they were “appalled” by Jingir’s comments.
He stressed that being a Christian should not make any Nigerian a second-class citizen, just as Muslims were entitled to 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 accused Jingir of making several remarks which he said portrayed Christians as “infidels”, questioned their place in Nigeria and suggested that Christians should leave the country if uncomfortable with a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
He also rejected what he described as Jingir’s alleged claim that the Maitatsine sect was made up of “Christians in disguise”, dismissing the assertion as false.
On the 2023 presidential election, Fani-Kayode said Christians who supported the Muslim-Muslim ticket did so on the basis of competence and political choice, rather than because they accepted the subordination of Christianity to Islam.
“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 warned that Jingir’s remarks could ultimately damage the very political arrangement the cleric claims to support.
According to Fani-Kayode, the comments had already caused pain among Christians and risked deepening religious divisions in a country that needs greater tolerance.
“I cannot be Jingir’s footmat just because I am a Christian or because I am in APC,” he said.
Fani-Kayode further declared that he would not share a platform, belong to the same political party or maintain fellowship with what he described as an individual who “claims to be a cleric but who preaches hate.”
He urged Nigerians not to cross what he called the “red line” of religious extremism and intolerance, warning that such conduct would ultimately damage both Christians and Muslims.
“The Christians of Nigeria are hurt and offended by Jingir’s remarks,” he said, while commending members of the Muslim community who, according to him, had spoken against the comments.
Fani-Kayode subsequently called on the Sultan of Sokoto and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to publicly caution Jingir, warning that failure to address inflammatory religious rhetoric could have serious consequences for national cohesion.
“He has no regrets, no remorse, no decency, no shame and no place in today’s Nigeria,” Fani-Kayode said.