NEWS
“The Muslim-Muslim Ticket Is A Scam. People Have Seen Through That” — Prof. Usman Yusuf Says
Professor Usman Yusuf, a professor of haematology, oncology and bone marrow transplantation, has strongly rejected the recent endorsement of President Bola Tinubu by more than 500 Islamic clerics, arguing that the gathering does not represent his views or those of millions of Muslims in Northern Nigeria.
Yusuf made the remarks while speaking on Symfoni’s Nigeria Unfiltered, where he reacted to the reported gathering of the clerics in Jigawa State, attended by six All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and the Deputy President of the Senate.
The professor questioned the authority of the clerics to present their political position as the collective position of northern Muslims, insisting that Muslims in the region have diverse political opinions and cannot simply be spoken for by a group of clerics.
According to him, the endorsement should be viewed as an individual political decision by those involved rather than a declaration of support from the wider Muslim population.
Yusuf also revisited the controversy surrounding the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, describing the strategy as a political scam that Nigerians have already recognised. He argued that the experience of the past three years has made it increasingly difficult for supporters of the arrangement to convince Nigerians with the same message.
He maintained that while the clerics have the right to endorse President Tinubu or any other politician of their choice, they should not assume that their endorsement automatically translates into the support of the wider Muslim community.
The professor further argued that Nigerians are now more conscious of political messaging and are capable of assessing the performance of the government independently of religious considerations.
In his words: “I am a Muslim. They are not representing me.
“They are not representing hundreds of millions of Muslims in Nigeria, particularly in the north.
“The Muslim-Muslim ticket is a scam. People have seen through that. They can gather all they want and endorse all they want. They cannot sell this scam to our people again.“
Yusuf’s comments add to the growing debate over religion, political endorsements and the 2027 elections, particularly as political actors and religious leaders continue to take positions on the direction of the country ahead of the next general election.