….Condemns cleric’s reported remarks, urges religious leaders to defend peaceful coexistence Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has called on the Sultan of Sokoto and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to publicly caution Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir over comments attributed to the Islamic cleric concerning Christians and Christianity. Fani-Kayode made the call in a lengthy statement titled “The Gospel According to Sheik Jingir,” in which he expressed concern over the potential consequences of what he described as inflammatory religious rhetoric. The former minister said he was particularly disturbed by Jingir’s reported declaration that he had “no regrets” over statements he allegedly made at a recent public event. Fani-Kayode said the remarks had generated strong reactions from both Christians and Muslims, adding that he had spoken with several Northern Muslim governors and a prominent Muslim cleric who, according to him, were also concerned about the comments. He commended the Sultan of Sokoto for recently urging Christians and Muslims not to insult one another, describing the intervention as “fatherly counsel” that had helped calm tensions. “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 maintained that Nigerians should not allow religious differences to destroy the country’s unity, stressing 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 said his position was not based on hostility towards Islam, stressing that he had consistently opposed attempts by adherents of either faith to demean the other. “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. Muslim-Muslim ticket The former minister also addressed the 2023 Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, saying his support for the ticket did not mean that Christians had agreed to subordinate their faith to Islam. He said he supported the ticket because he believed competence, rather than religious affiliation, should guide political choices. According to him, Christians and Muslims should be regarded as equal citizens whose religious choices must be respected. “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. Fani-Kayode argued that remarks suggesting Christians were inferior or should leave the country if they were uncomfortable with a Muslim-Muslim ticket were unacceptable. He said such comments could also damage the political cause they were purportedly intended to support. “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. Maitatsine reference Fani-Kayode also criticised a reported claim linking the Maitatsine sect with Christians. He argued that violent extremist groups should not be associated with either Christianity or Islam, noting that victims of sectarian violence have included adherents of different faiths. He said Nigerians, including religious and political leaders, should unite against violent extremism irrespective of the religion of those responsible. Fani-Kayode further urged Nigerians to preserve what he described as the “delicate balance” of peaceful coexistence and respectful rhetoric between Christians and Muslims. “We must maintain the delicate balance of love, peaceful co-existence and respectful rhetoric between us all,” he said. He warned that religious extremism and intolerance could have devastating consequences for the country and urged political and religious leaders to act responsibly. Call for intervention Fani-Kayode subsequently made a direct appeal to the Sultan and the President to intervene. “I call on His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto and the President of our beloved country, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to publicly caution him before it is too late,” he said.
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