By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo KADUNA — Chairman of the Northern Christian Association (NCA), Rev. Joseph John Hayab, has called on the Federal Government to include religious affiliation in Nigeria’s next national census to establish credible data on the country’s religious demographics. Hayab said the absence of official statistics on the religious composition of the population had allowed unverified claims of numerical strength and religious dominance to gain prominence in political and public discourse. The Northern Christian leader made the call on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday while reacting to recent comments by an Islamic cleric, who defended the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket on the basis of the numerical strength and popularity of Muslims in Nigeria. Jingir made the remarks at a gathering organised by the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) in Kano, which was attended by the governors of Kano and Jigawa states, Abba Kabir Yusuf and Umar Namadi, respectively. In a video of the event circulated online, the cleric urged Muslims to unite and use their numerical strength to advance their political interests, while also making remarks about Christians that generated controversy. Reacting, Hayab said the development underscored the need for the country to obtain reliable data on the religious composition of its population rather than allowing competing and unverifiable figures to shape political arguments and relations between faith communities. He said, “That is why we have called for every census to have the religious question included. Let us do this. Why have people been running away from putting religious questions in the census and then coming out behind the scenes to beat their chests?” Hayab challenged the Federal Government to reconsider its position on the matter and include religious affiliation in the next census, arguing that credible data would help settle recurring claims about which religious group constitutes the majority. “Let us have the religious question. Let us really know who is in this country and what the percentages are so that people will stop insulting fellow Nigerians,” he said. He maintained that no religious group should deploy claims of numerical superiority to demean, intimidate or seek political advantage over other Nigerians. According to him, the controversy surrounding the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket should not be reduced to the right of Muslims to support candidates of their faith, but should also take into account the principles of fairness, inclusion and mutual respect. Hayab noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima were elected through votes cast by Nigerians across religious lines, including in states and communities with substantial Christian populations. “Will you tell me that the current Muslim-Muslim ticket that you claim to have put was only elected by Muslims? No, sir. I can count names of states that are mostly Christian. The man won in those states. “So, it was not just the Muslims that voted for him. Even though we had concerns and advised that there should be a balance for fairness, we were not going to war to install anybody or anything. “We only wanted understanding and togetherness, as enshrined in our Constitution,” he said. The NCA chairman also recalled that Nigeria had previously witnessed political arrangements involving candidates of the same faith, arguing that the present debate should focus more on inclusive governance and responsible rhetoric than on religious identity alone. He cited the late Moshood Abiola and Babagana Kingibe presidential ticket, among other historical examples, stressing that Nigerians had previously supported such political arrangements without the level of religious tension currently witnessed. “It is not today that Nigeria had a Muslim-Muslim ticket. We voted for Abiola and Kingibe. We did not have a problem with that. We have had Buhari and Diakpo. Nobody had a problem with that. “But when we start making terrible rhetoric against one another and start insulting people publicly, please, can we solve this problem once and for all?” Hayab asked. He argued that credible census data on religious affiliation would provide an objective basis for discussions on Nigeria’s religious demographics and reduce the tendency of political and religious actors to rely on unverified population estimates. Hayab further said accurate data could promote greater understanding among the country’s faith communities and discourage the use of religious population claims to deepen political and social divisions. He urged religious and political leaders to avoid inflammatory rhetoric and concentrate on issues
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