At a Time of National Healing, Nigeria Must Reject Sectarian Distractions
By Citizens Support for Good Governance (CSGG)
Nigeria is still in a delicate phase of national recovery. Years of terrorism, banditry, communal violence, and economic disruption have left deep scars across communities, particularly in the North and other vulnerable regions.
At such a moment, the nation’s collective responsibility should be healing, rebuilding trust, and strengthening institutions not reopening fault lines that further divide us.
It is from this perspective that the Citizens Support for Good Governance (CSGG) views with concern recent attempts to inject religious profiling into the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The demand by the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria that the INEC Chairman be dismissed on the basis of his Christian faith, coupled with threats to delegitimise future elections, represents a misplaced priority in a fragile national moment.
Nigeria’s democracy has survived not because of religious uniformity, but because of constitutional order and institutional continuity. INEC is a creation of the Constitution, and its leadership is appointed through a clearly defined legal process.
The personal faith of the Chairman has never been, and must never become, a qualification or disqualification for that office.
History provides important context that should guide today’s conversation. Professor Attahiru Jega and Professor Mahmood Yakubu both Muslims from the North served as INEC Chairmen at different periods.
During their tenures, Nigeria witnessed highly contested elections, intense political competition, and even regime change. Yet at no point did the Shari’ah Council or any religious body threaten to reject elections on the basis of the Chairman’s faith.
This raises a fundamental question: why is religion being weaponised now?
CSGG believes that this trend does not advance democracy, security, or national cohesion. Instead, it risks reversing the fragile gains Nigeria has made in inter-communal trust after years of violence.
At a time when citizens are yearning for peace, justice, and economic stability, profiling public officials along religious lines sends the wrong message especially to communities still traumatised by insecurity.
Our nation should be graduating into a more conscious and mature democratic stage, where institutions are assessed on performance, transparency, and accountability not on sectarian identity. Elections are strengthened by systems, reforms, and credibility of process, not by religious litmus tests.
More importantly, Nigeria cannot afford new sources of division. Weaponising religion in national institutions undermines the healing process the country desperately needs after being ravaged by terrorism and banditry. It distracts from urgent conversations about security reform, economic recovery, youth inclusion, and national reconciliation.
CSGG therefore calls on all stakeholders religious leaders, civil society, and political actors to act with restraint and responsibility. Legitimate concerns about electoral credibility should be pursued through lawful engagement, policy advocacy, and institutional reform, not through threats that weaken public confidence before any election is even conducted.
Nigeria’s democracy belongs to all Nigerians Christian, Muslim, and others alike. At this critical juncture, unity, healing, and institutional stability must take precedence over divisive narratives.
The future will not be secured by profiling personalities on sacred national assignments, but by protecting institutions that serve the collective will of the people.
