Northern Christians Demand Religious Census To End Population Claims

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 the actual numerical strength of the country’s major religious groups.

Hayab said the absence of official data on the religious composition of the population had allowed unverified claims of numerical dominance to feature prominently in political debates and deepen religious tensions.

He made the call on Monday while speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, in reaction to recent comments by Islamic cleric, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, who defended the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket on the basis of the population and popularity of Muslims.

Jingir made the comments at an event organised by the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) in Kano, which was attended by Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and his Jigawa State counterpart, Umar Namadi.

In a viral video from the gathering, the cleric urged Muslims to unite and use their numerical strength to pursue their political interests, while referring to Christians as “infidels.”

Reacting to the comments, Hayab said the development had further demonstrated the need for Nigeria to obtain reliable data on the religious composition of its population rather than relying on competing and unverified claims.

The NCA chairman urged the federal government to include a question on religion in the next census, saying the data would provide a factual basis for discussions about the country’s religious demographics.

“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,” Hayab said.

He said no religious group should use claims of numerical strength to demean, intimidate or seek political advantage over other Nigerians.

On the controversy surrounding the Muslim-Muslim ticket, Hayab said the concern of Christian leaders was not to deny Muslims the right to support candidates of their faith, but to promote fairness, inclusion and mutual respect.

He argued that President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima were not elected by Muslims alone, noting that the ticket secured support in states and communities with significant 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,” Hayab said.

The NCA chairman noted that Nigeria had previously had political tickets involving candidates of the same faith, stressing that the issue was not new.

He cited the Moshood Abiola and Babagana Kingibe ticket, as well as the Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon ticket, arguing that the current controversy was more about divisive rhetoric and claims of religious numerical superiority.

Hayab maintained that including religious affiliation in the census would provide a factual basis for discussions about Nigeria’s religious demographics and help reduce competing claims of population dominance.

The Northern Christian leader urged the Federal Government to consider the proposal in the interest of national unity, saying the country should move away from divisive rhetoric and focus on addressing hunger, insecurity and other challenges confronting citizens.