metro

Poll: Islamic group thanks North for Tinubu’s victory

Published

4 years ago

March 4, 2023

President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu

An Islamic human rights advocacy group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has expressed appreciation to the North for keeping its promise on power shift to the South. The group described the North as the bastion of honour, the citadel of nobility and the abode of integrity in Nigeria.

MURIC made the declaration in a press statement signed by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Friday, 3rd March, 2023.

The full statement reads: “It is an open secret that Nigeria’s political parties resolved to shift power to the South in the buildup to the 2023 general elections. It was argued that it would be unfair to the South if another Northerner succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari, a Northern Fulani.

“Although all eyes were on the two major political parties to implement this unwritten agreement, only the All People’s Congress (APC) implemented it by picking Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a Southern Yoruba. The main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), reneged and fielded Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, another Northern Fulani.

“This resulted in friction within the PDP leading to the emergence of the G-5 group. Palpable tension gripped the South as doubts were expressed about the sincerity of Northerners. Cynics argued that the North would not keep its promise since they now have one of their own, a Fulani, as the PDP presidential candidate.

READ ALSO:

“MURIC in particular was derided by non-Muslims in the South. We were called slaves of the North. But we stood our ground. We insisted that we trusted the North particularly on the basis of understandings reached and pledges made at various Islamic fora on MURIC’s avowed project for the emergence of a Yoruba Muslim president.

“The ground-breaking decision came just before the parties’ primaries when 12 Northern governors (the Noble Dozen) insisted that power must shift to the South (https://sunnewsonline.com/apc-northern-group-insists-on-power-shift-to-south/). This enabled Tinubu to emerge as the flagbearer of the ruling party and ultimately as the President-Elect after the presidential election held on Saturday, 25th December, 2023.

“A brief analysis of the results of the presidential election reveals that Tinubu polled the lion share of his votes in the North to give him his much needed victory. Working on approximate figures without claiming any mathematical exactitude, the total scores of Tinubu in the South was 3,196,040 whereas he garnered 5,598,686 in the North, a difference of about two and a half million. This gave him a grand total of 8,794,726. He scored 127,370 votes in the South East, 799,957 in the South South and 2,279,407 in the South West.

“The outcome of the presidential election showed that Northern votes won the election for Tinubu. The Northern figure almost doubled what he scored in the South. It showed that Northerners stood by their words. They walked their talks. They took the path of honour and nobility. They abandoned a Northern Fulani candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and voted for a Southern Yoruba Muslim candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“We doff our hats for the North. We salute integrity. The North is a reliable friend by all standards. The region stood behind Tinubu, a Southern Muslim, like the Rock of Gibralta.

“In fact, numerous calls received in MURIC’s Lagos headquarters during the tension-soaked hours of the collation of results proved beyond any reasonable doubt that our Northern brothers and sisters were even more concerned than us in the South. We celebrate the North.

“They called to give assurance. They called to know how we were holding on in the South. The solidarity was rock-solid, tremendous, unprecedented. But most gratifying were the congratulatory messages that came from the same Northern brothers to MURIC’s office after Tinubu was declared winner. We give it to the North.

READ ALSO:

“With this strong support for a Southerner coming from the North, the myth of a Northern oligarchy has fallen apart. The conspiracy theories of the existence of a Northern Caliphate bent on perpetuating Northerners in power becomes a mirage, a phantom. The ‘born to rule’ propaganda which haters of the North has been brandishing has been proved to be false, baseless and unfounded.

“Not only did the North win this election, it won the battle, pocketed the war itself and carted away the propaganda. It is a massive and disgraceful defeat for Southern ideologues, merchants of hate and peddlers of anti-North as well as anti-Muslim fake news. The North has disappointed the nay sayers and the doubting Thomases. The North has proved, without any iota of doubt, that it is the bastion of honour, the citadel of nobility and the abode of integrity in Nigeria. We salute the North.

It is a big lesson for Southern Muslims who still entertain doubts about their Northern brethren. It is a big blow for non-Muslims whose hobby is to create wedges between Southern Muslims and their Northern counterparts. They sow the seeds of doubt and suspicion in the minds of Southern Muslims against their Muslim brothers in the North.

“They are always eager to tell Southern Muslims that Northerners would not pray behind them. They are always anxious to let Southern Muslims know that Northerners regard them as their slaves. They spread false information about Northerners and Muslims. We were able to counter all these. They resorted to blackmail and threats against MURIC when all their tricks failed yet we were not bothered.

“But the wind has blown. We have seen the ruff of the hen. We have seen Northern Muslims praying behind Yoruba and Igbo Imams even in the National Mosque, Abuja. Never again shall we allow confusionists to judge our Northern brothers for us. Never again shall we doubt our Northern brothers. Never again!”

Up Next

‘Impotent’ lecturer accused of raping 12-year-old freed

Don't Miss

Gunmen abduct Taraba monarch’s wives, son

metro

Police Detain ASP After Bullet Kills Girl, Injures Another in Lagos

Published

11 hours ago

November 7, 2026

Trends Admin

Police Detain ASP After Bullet Kills Girl, Injures Another in Lagos

The Lagos State Police Command has detained an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Omotayo Olajide, after a bullet discharged from his firearm during a police operation in Ajegunle killed a young girl and injured another.

The incident occurred on Thursday, November 5, 2026, between 9:30 pm and 10 pm in the Nosamu area of Ajegunle, Lagos State, during a police response to a violent clash between two rival groups.

The police identified the deceased girl as Omole Taiwo, while the second victim is receiving medical treatment and is reportedly in stable condition.

According to the command, preliminary investigations showed that officers were deployed following a distress call over a clash between rival groups known as the Nosamu Boys and Alayabiagba Boys.

The groups were reportedly engaged in a violent confrontation over toll collection and allegedly armed with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons.

During the operation, ASP Olajide discharged his firearm, and the bullet struck the two girls.

READ ALSO:

Both victims were immediately rushed to Ajeromi General Hospital for medical attention. However, Taiwo was later transferred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, where she eventually died.

The police said the officer had been disarmed and detained, while the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, said the investigation would establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting and determine the appropriate legal and disciplinary action.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Tijani Fatai, also visited the family of the deceased to express his condolences.

Fatai assured the bereaved family that the investigation would be thorough, adding that no police officer found culpable would be shielded.

The police have yet to establish whether the officer deliberately fired at the rival groups, whether the girls were caught in the line of fire or whether the firearm was discharged unintentionally.

The incident has renewed concerns over civilian safety during police operations and the need for accountability whenever security personnel use firearms in public places.

Police Detain ASP After Bullet Kills Girl, Injures Another in Lagos

metro

How Bandits Killed Two, Abducted 18 in Kaduna Village Raid

Published

12 hours ago

November 7, 2026

Trends Admin

Kaduna State Police Command spokesperson, Mansir Hassan

How Bandits Killed Two, Abducted 18 in Kaduna Village Raid

Two residents have been killed while at least 18 others, including women and children, were abducted after armed bandits attacked Akwando community in Kuturmi, Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The attack reportedly occurred around midnight on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, when the gunmen stormed the community and launched an assault on residents in their homes.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attackers killed two people before taking several villagers away to an unknown destination.

A security source familiar with the incident also confirmed the attack, telling Daily Trust that 18 residents were abducted while two people were killed.

“Yes, 18 villagers were abducted but two people were killed,” the source reportedly said.

The attack has heightened concerns over the worsening security situation in communities across the Kuturmi area, where residents have repeatedly suffered bandit attacks, killings and mass abductions.

The attackers had reportedly not contacted the families of the abducted residents or made any ransom demands as of the time the incident was reported.

READ ALSO:

The deceased were identified as Irimiya Galadima, 41, and Benjamin Danlami, 32, by the Kuturmi Unity Development Association (KUDA).

However, the association gave a higher figure of 20 abducted residents, releasing their names in a statement jointly signed by its President, Dr Joseph Ariko, and Publicity Secretary, Manasseh Samuel Akwando.

Those listed include Usman Galadima, La’a’zarus Genesis, Madalin Markus, Happy Stephen, Lovet Ishaya, Afiniki Irimeya, Amina Ahmadu, Miracle Genesis, Hellen Irimeya and Musa Genesis.

Others are Janet Irimeya, Gloria Markus, Zila Stephen, Alis Ahmadu, Haske Ahmadu, Great Isiac, Hanatu Irimeya, Desmon Ishaya, Siam Shagari and Nansy Genesis.

The association expressed concern over repeated attacks on communities in Kuturmi land, recalling that an Easter Sunday attack on Ariko community reportedly killed five people at the scene, while another 17 victims subsequently died in captivity.

It also cited an attack on Awon community, where two people were reportedly killed and 11 others abducted.

According to KUDA, five of the abducted residents regained their freedom on November 3, but one reportedly died the following day. Another victim escaped, while five others died in captivity.

The association said the recurring attacks had forced residents to abandon their homes and farmlands, disrupted economic activities and created widespread fear across affected communities.

It further alleged that armed groups had restricted residents’ access to their ancestral lands, demanding levies before allowing them to cultivate their farms or harvest agricultural produce.

KUDA appealed to the Federal Government and the Kaduna State Government to urgently deploy adequately equipped security personnel to Akwando, Ariko, Awon and other vulnerable communities.

It also called for coordinated security operations to rescue the abducted residents, the establishment of permanent security posts, regular patrols and effective early-warning systems.

Meanwhile, some residents of Babban Saura PW in Millennium City, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, abducted since October 1, were still being held captive.

Among them are Hafsat Sikiru and her son, Abdulsalam. Her husband and the boy’s father, Sikiru Shuaibu, was reportedly killed while attempting to protect his family during the attack.

Their continued captivity comes despite the recent rescue of eight kidnap victims by security operatives during a forest operation. One of those rescued was a pregnant woman abducted from her residence in Millennium City on October 6.

Kaduna State Police Command spokesperson, Mansir Hassan, could not be reached for comment on the Akwando attack, while the state Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs had yet to issue an official statement at the time of reporting.

How Bandits Killed Two, Abducted 18 in Kaduna Village Raid

metro

Church Growth Is Not About Numbers’: Bishop Smith Champions Training for Small Churches

Published

19 hours ago

November 7, 2026

Trends Admin

‘Church Growth Is Not About Numbers’: Bishop Smith Champions Training for Small Churches

Concerned about the leadership challenges confronting independent and grassroots churches, Bishop James G. Smith, a veteran missionary with nearly three decades of international experience, is stepping up efforts to strengthen smaller congregations through ministerial training, mentorship and leadership development.

Smith, founder of Life and Power Global Ministry, Liberia, and owner of St. James Revival Assemblies, said the initiative was designed to equip church leaders with the spiritual knowledge, administrative skills and institutional capacity required to build sustainable ministries, regardless of their congregation’s size.

He made this known at a two-day ministers’ conference organised by his ministry on October 23 and 24, 2026, at Foursquare Gospel Church, Iba Housing Estate, Lagos.

The conference, tagged “Strength for the Journey of Ministry,” with the theme “Raising Strong and Effective Church,” brought together pastors, bishops, church leaders and ministers for spiritual enrichment, leadership development and capacity-building.

Smith disclosed that the initiative attracted representatives of about 68 churches and ministries, while the event report documented 64 participants.

Explaining the motivation behind the programme, the cleric said many independent and grassroots churches struggle with inadequate mentorship, weak administrative structures and limited access to the resources available to larger denominations.

Originally from Delta State, Smith spent 11 years pastoring in Nigeria before relocating to Liberia for missionary work about 29 years ago. His ministry has since focused on church planting, evangelism, leadership development and training ministers, with plans to extend the initiative to more countries.

He expressed concern that smaller congregations sometimes struggle to retain their members and maintain their identity, particularly when larger churches establish a presence in their communities.

However, he argued that the true strength of a church should not be determined by its numerical strength, physical structures or financial resources, but by the spiritual maturity of its members, the quality of its leadership and its commitment to evangelism.

“We are all working for one God, one purpose, one kingdom. All of the churches, whether a small church, grassroots church or giant church, we are all doing the same thing,” he said.

Smith therefore called for greater cooperation among Christian leaders, insisting that the growth of the Church required collective commitment rather than competition among congregations.

Discipleship, the foundation of sustainable growth

A central message of the conference was the need for churches to move beyond attracting worshippers to deliberately nurturing spiritually mature believers capable of sustaining their ministries.

Smith maintained that bringing people into the church was only the beginning of the responsibility of Christian leadership, stressing that members must receive proper biblical instruction, mentorship and practical guidance to enable them to contribute meaningfully to the growth of their congregations.

Drawing lessons from the ministry of Jesus Christ and His disciples, he urged pastors to invest in developing committed believers who could reproduce the values and teachings of Christianity across generations.

“If you have three members, and you disciple them, you have a church. If you have 20 members, and the 20 members are properly discipled, they can turn the city upside down,” he said.

He warned that large congregations without effective discipleship programmes risk producing spiritually immature members who could easily become vulnerable to misleading teachings.

The cleric also advocated functional leadership structures and administrative systems that would ensure continuity in church operations, even when the presiding pastor was unavailable.

Accountability, integrity in church administration

On church administration, Smith stressed the importance of transparency, integrity and accountability, particularly in the management of financial contributions and other resources.

He said church leaders must ensure that donations made for specific projects were used for their intended purposes, while members should be adequately informed about how church funds were managed.

“If the people give their money for a particular purpose, that purpose should be achieved,” he emphasised.

He equally urged ministers to demonstrate discipline in time management, programme coordination and their relationships with members, noting that effective leadership required both spiritual commitment and sound administrative practices.

Beyond administration, Smith highlighted the importance of prayer, evangelism, biblical teaching, fasting and spiritual preparedness in equipping ministers for the challenges of contemporary society.

Speaking on “The Necessity of Power in the Last Days,” he referenced Ephesians 6:10 and 2 Corinthians 10:3, encouraging ministers to remain spiritually grounded and steadfast in confronting the challenges of their calling.

He emphasised the need for a consistent relationship with God through prayer and the study of His Word, while cautioning against elevating personal convictions, traditions and preferences into doctrines unsupported by Scripture.

The bishop also reminded ministers that their physical well-being was important to effective service, urging them to get adequate rest and seek medical attention whenever necessary.

Christian leaders, ministers endorse initiative

The conference attracted several Christian leaders, including Rev. Dr. Mike Adeleke, PFN Chairman of Ojo Province; Bishop Vincent Paye Bagnoon; Apostle Veronica Ujah; Apostle Dr. Eddo Sylvanus of Foursquare Gospel Church, Iba Housing Estate; Pastor Iboro Promise Freedom; Bishop Kingsley Azuka of City of Priests Mega Church; Bishop-Elect James Esuku; and international gospel artist Praise Eddo.

Other ministers and church workers also participated in the programme.

Smith expressed appreciation to the host pastor, Apostle Dr. Eddo Sylvanus, for providing the venue and supporting the conference, as well as the facilitators and participants whose contributions enriched the sessions.

Speaking with journalists, Apostle Mrs. Dorcas Okonye Azuka of City of Priests Mega Church commended the initiative and encouraged female ministers to maintain humility in their homes and create sufficient time for their families.

She stressed the need for women in ministry to strike a healthy balance between their spiritual responsibilities and family commitments.

Similarly, Bishop-Elect James Esuku addressed concerns about transactional approaches to Christianity and perceptions that the power of God was diminishing.

He maintained that God’s ways remained unchanged, urging Christians to develop personal relationships with Him rather than allow the misconduct of some individuals to undermine their faith.

Expanding the grassroots ministry network

Smith also expressed concern about religious teachings that promise quick success without adequately emphasising discipline, diligence, repentance and commitment to God’s Kingdom.

Reflecting on his return to Nigeria after years of missionary service abroad, he called for balanced Christian teachings that promote spiritual maturity, responsible living and genuine commitment to faith.

He particularly urged Nigerian youths to deepen their relationship with God and participate actively in church activities.

The Lagos conference, he explained, was part of a broader effort to reach grassroots churches and ministers across different locations.

According to him, the initiative had earlier taken him to Bayelsa and Port Harcourt in 2026, while another ministers’ conference was being planned for Lekki, Lagos, in March 2027.

The long-term ambition, he said, was to establish a network of ministers who could share knowledge, exchange experiences, strengthen their congregations and collectively contribute to the development of Christianity.

For Smith, the campaign goes beyond organising religious gatherings. It is an effort to build a stronger foundation for grassroots Christianity through properly trained ministers, accountable leadership, sustainable administrative structures and effective discipleship.

His central message is that the future strength of the Church will depend less on the size of its congregations and more on the quality, spiritual maturity, integrity and preparedness of the people leading and sustaining them.