Jingir And Storm In A Teacup

Many social media platforms have been flooded with reactions to Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir’s comments on the same-faith presidential ticket of the All Progressives (APC) for 2027. The prominent cleric spoke during the state-sponsored mass wedding for 1,500 couples in Kano State, where he called on Muslims to rise and ensure the continuation of a Muslim-Muslim presidency to assert the numerical strength of Muslims in the country.  Jingir’s declaration, shared in a video clip, has sparked a torrent of reactions from various quarters, with some calling on the security forces to arrest the cleric as his statement could threaten the peace of the country.

With former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai,  and Founder of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Professor Ishaq Akintola, Sheikh Jingir formed the tripod upon which the same-faith ticket found public support. Having experimented with it in Kaduna between 2019 and 2023, the demolition master, who claimed he feared no one,  is now drinking from the mischievousness of being the chief advocate of the ticket popularly called MM. For now, the audacious purveyor of the same-faith ticket is battling to fulfil his bail conditions, which some have described as harsh. Indeed, what comes around goes around. Like Shakespeare’s King Lear, the man who thought he was above repercussions now lives within a secluded space to ruminate over his past actions, awaiting his day in court.

Marriage And Wedding

I find it laughable whenever this issue of state-sponsored weddings is mentioned. Marriage is a responsibility, and not the end of the wedding but the beginning of a marriage. In the 1970s, I had an uncle in the village whose son was called Kangfara. My uncle’s son was both the family and village troublemaker, as he showed no prospects of turning a new leaf. One early morning, Kangfara knocked on his father’s door for a discussion. After looking at his son’s face, which wore a sober expression, the old man asked why he wanted to see him.

“Baba, I want to marry. All my mates are married. I am the only one without a wife,” Kangfara gently declared in a gentle voice as he bowed his head.

“God, I thank you for giving me Kangfara. I never thought he would be useful to me. Now that he wants to marry,  he has shown me he is ready to be a responsible man,” he responded in prayer.

The son’s face brightened as he listened to his father and smiled at what he considered a compliment.

“Have you found the lady?”

“Yes, Baba,” the young man replied.

“Then, what have you  prepared for the wedding?”

The son looked confused, as he already had a room and a bed.

“Baba, I have a room of my own with a good bed.”

His father said, “Please go and build a barn and stock it.”

“With what, Baba?

“Of course, with sand. I don’t know if humans will start eating sand in the future. Let me tell you that if sand is to become food in the future, you may never see it as common as it is now, once you get married. Marriage is beyond four legs on a bed; the responsibility is far more than the conjugal bliss,” my uncle told his son.

Political Strategy

I find it painfully funny that the cleric chose the mass-wedding occasion to call on Muslims’ support for the continuation of the MM ticket.  For many Northerners, including yours sincerely, the rough pathways to our present ailment have been inscrutable. How did we allow religion that was once relegated to the background to be turned into a monster for disunity? How did we get into a situation where state resources worth billions of naira are now being deployed to sponsor mass weddings, while state governments neglect developmental goals aimed at improving citizens’ living conditions?

In its fourth year, the Bola Tinubu-led administration has never shown any sign of governing this country on the basis of faith. Even MURIC’s Akintola had lamented and accused Tinubu of abandoning Muslims. Available records have shown that non-Muslims have benefited more than Muslims. Some of the frontline architects of the same-faith ticket have grown disillusioned. What are the chances that Jingir’s declarations may not be a campaign political strategy? The more one sees, the less one understands; such is the enduring trait of Nigeria’s politics.

Support For This MM

As reactions over the sheikh’s declaration continue to reverberate across the country, let me state here that I would rather support an MM than an MC (Muslim-Christian) ticket that can deliver equity and fairness. I am not saying here that the MM has done exceptionally well to eliminate all our troubles; the Tinubu-Shettima presidency has demonstrated its capacity to wage battles against forces fighting against Nigeria’s enemies. Even when I disagree with some of the economic reforms that have inflicted suffering on citizens, I have always advocated that the administration should review its position on fuel subsidy removal to allow the poor to breathe. We must not, for the sake of the state’s inability to curb corruption, resort to punishing poor citizens.

I state the above, knowing full well that many opposition elements interpret Tinubu’s achievements as simply a negation of the current administration’s many weaknesses. Many Nigerians know that Jingir’s passionate appeal resonates with his past. Some of us who have seen what this MM government has done and is doing attest to their capacity to be just and fair. This MM presidency has done so much for my people, especially when compared with the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in power. By the establishment of a federal university and medical centre, the southern Kaduna region is grateful.

I dare add that some of the Muslims in this present government are genuine patriots who believe in justice. If Tinubu had acted according to the scripts of MM advocates, Nigeria would have been consumed in religious conflagration. Tinubu must focus on justice, not on religion and ethnicity, for the general good grounded in collective humanity.