Prophet Isa El-Buba, General Overseer of El-Buba Outreach Ministries, has condemned Islamic cleric Sheikh Yahya Jingir over remarks supporting Muslim-Muslim political tickets and referring to Christians as infidels.
Jingir reportedly made the remarks at a campaign event organised in support of Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and tagged “Abba Go Again,” according to a video seen by SaharaReporters.
Reacting to the video, El-Buba accused the cleric of promoting religious division at a time when northern Nigeria is dealing with insecurity, poverty, banditry, drug abuse, criminality and the displacement of communities.
In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, El-Buba said he was speaking to Nigerians with a “very serious, heavy heart,” arguing that political and religious leaders should be focused on how Nigerians can live together peacefully.
“I’m coming to every Nigerian with a very serious, heavy heart, because I thought that at this stage of our lives, especially when we’re getting older, we should begin to think about Nigeria and how we can all live together in peace,” he said.
El-Buba said he had personally supported thousands of Muslims across northern Nigeria, despite having no family or personal relationship with many of those he assisted.
“As of today, I have supported over 10,000 Muslims across northern Nigeria. They have no relationship with me at all, whether it is the school of their children, whether it is their housekeeping, it is home issues and all of that,” he said.
He questioned why a religious leader would use a political gathering to describe Christians as infidels, warning that such rhetoric could deepen religious tensions and undermine national unity.
“Somebody is standing there in your meeting shouting Muslim, calling Christians infidels. If Christians should do this, who is going to have a country?” El-Buba asked.
He also criticised the socioeconomic conditions in northern Nigeria, citing poverty, banditry, criminality and drug abuse as issues that should receive greater attention from political and religious leaders.
“Northern Nigerian Muslims with the highest, you talk about the highest capital poverty of the world,” he said.
“Are you not ashamed? Are you not ashamed that banditry is here in the north? Criminality is here in the north. It is here in the north you have the highest level of drug addicts.”
According to El-Buba, religious leaders should use their platforms to encourage solutions to the social and economic problems affecting vulnerable communities rather than make statements capable of inflaming religious sentiments.
“That you are supposed to, if you are sane, begin to preach the message that will help to bring people out of bondage and out of their captivity,” he said.
“You are there making stupid statement and inciting against Christians and calling them, look at them infidels if they think they have voting power.”
El-Buba also warned Christians against supporting individuals whom he accused of promoting religious division, while urging Muslims to challenge such rhetoric within their communities.
“Woe to any Christian that is going to align themselves with these evil, brainless people and creatures,” he said.
“And I am speaking to my Muslim brothers who are saying you cannot be allowing this kind of creatures to be flowing among you.”
He specifically challenged the Kano State Government over the alleged remarks and called on Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to take action against the cleric.
“And I want to say to all the Kano people, it’s time that whatever is your name, the governor of Kano, it’s time you throw that guy out of that seat. He doesn’t deserve it,” El-Buba said.
He also questioned the governor’s presence at a gathering where, according to him, the remarks were made.
“Look at it. I’m going to play the video. If a governor is sitting under such kind of evil hate speech and he’s praising this wicked evil man called whatever your name is. Your cup is full,” he said.
El-Buba further invoked religious language in condemning the reported comments, saying, “It will not be well with you. And God’s word cannot be broken. It shall not be well with the wicked.”
“The person that doesn’t have brain, we can’t tolerate this kind of person in our society. You calling Christians infidels,” he added.
The cleric also disclosed that he had been working with Muslim partners on efforts aimed at addressing the Almajiri system in northern Nigeria.
He argued that religious differences should not prevent Christians and Muslims from working together to address poverty, education and other problems affecting communities across the region.
El-Buba also pointed to the movement of people from northern Nigeria to other parts of the country in search of economic opportunities, using the prevalence of begging as an example of the hardship facing some communities.
“Go to southwest in Lagos and south east in Anambra. Northerners occupied there, all are beggars. Come to the north, you will see beggars occupied everywhere,” he said.
“Is that not enough to reason?”
He questioned whether a Muslim-Muslim political ticket would address the economic and security problems confronting Nigerians, arguing that political leaders should be judged by their performance rather than their religious identities.
“But let me tell you, we are in north together, let’s see if the Muslims-Muslims ticket will provide food for us or it will bring what we lack,” he said.
“Look at the situation that people are in, this is time for us to come together and reason together.”
El-Buba urged Nigerians to place national unity above the interests of individuals or groups promoting religious division.
“And I want to say to all of you, it’s time we prove to such wicked, evil, brainless creatures that Nigeria is bigger than them,” he said.
He also referred to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, saying he was “learning his lesson in a bitter way.”
El-Buba praised the current Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, for what he described as recognising the importance of balance and justice in governance.
“I’m grateful to the governor of Kaduna State that now he has seen that balance and justice is required,” he said.
He concluded by again condemning the reported description of Christians as infidels.
“Infidels, you mindless creature. It will not be well with you,” El-Buba said.
The remarks come amid continuing political debate over the role of religion in Nigeria’s politics, particularly the use of religious identity in electoral campaigns and political mobilisation.
