BY JULIET NONYE
Kaduna
The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, Rev. John Joseph Hayab, has said former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, is angry because of the sustainable peace currently being enjoyed in the State.
Hayab was reacting to El-Rufai’s comments during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where the former governor maintained that Southern Kaduna accounts for less than 25 per cent of the State’s population and insisted he had no regrets over his actions while in office.
The cleric said El-Rufai’s posture showed he was uncomfortable with unity in the State.
“His bitterness is because harmony among the people has weakened the divisive politics he thrived on”.
He recalled that during a past national census, the population of Southern Kaduna was so significant that the Kaduna State Shariah Committee threatened legal action against the National Population Commission.
Hayab argued that families in Southern Kaduna are known to have large numbers of children, contrary to claims of low population.
He alleged that what has often distorted population figures in the State was not the absence of people in the area but “deliberate inflation of numbers elsewhere to create a false sense of dominance”.
Hayab also faulted El-Rufai’s statement that only those who do not know him regard him as a fundamentalist.
He said “I know him personally, and Southern Kaduna people suffered under his administration”.
The CAN leader further called for future census exercises to capture religion and ethnicity in order to check manipulation of figures for political advantage.
He urged Nigerians to reject divisive narratives and uphold fairness, justice, and inclusivity, stressing that unity can only be strengthened when truth is respected and every citizen treated with dignity.
