We are all infidels, Lere Olayinka downplays cleric’s religious label
August 11, 2026 12:09 am
File: Lere Olayinka
The media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, Lere Olayinka, says everyone is an “infidel” depending on who is speaking.
Olayinka stated this in a post across his social media pages on Monday, insisting that the word should not be taken as an insult but understood as a matter of religious perspective.
The post read in part, “You are an INFIDEL. I am an INFIDEL. We are all INFIDELS. An INFIDEL is someone who does not have the same religious beliefs as the person speaking.
“If a Muslim is the one speaking, Christians and Traditional religions worshippers are INFIDELs. If a Christian is the one speaking, Muslims and Traditional religions worshippers are INFIDELs. If a Traditional religions worshipper is the one speaking, Christians and Muslims are INFIDELs.
“Therefore, if you are called an INFIDEL, it is not an insult. Simply respond by calling the person an INFIDEL too. DAZZOL.”
The post is coming after Olayinka, in an earlier reaction on the same platforms, criticised a cleric identified as Shafiy Adeba over remarks he described as extremist.
He had claimed the cleric said Muslims had a “right” to enslave non-Muslims and had declared war against those he termed infidels.
The post read in part, “This Cleric, by name Shafiy Adeba said Muslims have ‘Right’ to enslave Non-Muslims. He declared war against those he called infidels ‘Rooted In Islam’. And he is preaching this nonsense in Yorubaland?
“A land of educated and civilised people with Christians, Muslims and Traditional religions worshippers living together under the same roof?
“Methinks people like this man should be behind bars because extremist preachers like him caused Boko Haram that Nigeria is still battling today.”
It would be recalled that an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yahya Jingir, had, at a political event in Kano, urged Muslims to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards and vote for Muslim-Muslim tickets to “show infidels their limit.”
He insisted that Muslims were more populous in the country, at an event organised by the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah and attended by the governors of Kano and Jigawa states, Abba Yusuf and Umar Namadi.
Jingir had further alleged that people with a “dark history” were “so-called Christians in disguise,” linking them to the Maitatsine movement.
The remarks have since drawn widespread condemnation. The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory, John Hayab, described the comment as offensive and capable of deepening religious tension, while the General Overseer of El-Buba Outreach Ministries, Isa El-Buba, called Jingir “mindless” and urged the Kano State Government to address the rhetoric.
The former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, also faulted the cleric, warning that the comment could endanger the ruling party’s chances in the 2027 election by alienating Christian voters, while the vice presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Rabiu Kwankwaso, said the good people of Kano did not endorse the remarks.
Fawzi is a journalist and subeditor covering a wide range of beats including politics, metro, and international news, among others. He also optimises stories for digital audiences.
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