THE GREAT DECEPTION: HOW EL-RUFAI, DOKA AND CO. ARE MANUFACTURING A RELIGIOUS WAR THAT DOES NOT EXIST

THE GREAT DECEPTION: HOW EL-RUFAI, DOKA AND CO. ARE MANUFACTURING A RELIGIOUS WAR THAT DOES NOT EXIST

By Sa’adiyyah Adebisi Hassan

What Mohammed Bello Doka wrote is not an analysis.
What Nasir El-Rufai is amplifying is not a concern.
What both are pushing is a calculated, cynical, and dangerous lie.

There is no “silent war on the Muslim North.”
There is only a loud panic among a political elite that has lost its monopoly over power.

And that panic is now being dressed up as religion.

1. “I Have Been Threatened, Abused, Warned of Elimination”

This opening paragraph is not courageous. It is emotional blackmail.

Criticism is not persecution.
Pushback is not oppression.
Disagreement is not martyrdom.

Every Nigerian who enters public debate faces insults. Journalists, activists, Christians, Muslims, Southerners, Northerners. None of us claims sainthood for surviving social media comments.

Invoking “freedom or martyrdom” is not bravery. It is a deliberate attempt to weaponise fear and shut down rebuttal.

2. “Is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Waging a Quiet War on the Muslim North?”

This question is intellectually dishonest because it assumes its conclusion.

A war requires:

– Policy intent
– Legal discrimination
– Institutional exclusion
– Collective punishment

None exists.

What exists is rotation, reform, and rebalancing after decades of lopsided control.

Calling normal governance “war” is not analysis. It is propaganda.

3. “Power, Protection, and Proximity Are Moving Away From One Bloc”

Yes. And thank God.

Nigeria is not designed for eternal ownership by any bloc.
Power moving is not oppression.
Power rotating is not persecution.
Power being contested is democracy.

For decades, one bloc enjoyed:

– Near-total control of security institutions
– Dominance of electoral management
– Overrepresentation in military command
– Political immunity regardless of performance

Now that this dominance is breaking, the beneficiaries are screaming.

This is not injustice.
This is normalisation.

4. The Appointment Changes: Let’s Destroy This Lie Properly

Doka lists names and tries to create a conspiracy. Let’s go point by point.

APC Chairman

Ganduje exited due to political and internal party dynamics.
He was not arrested.
He was not banned.
He was not silenced.

Replacing him with a Christian is not anti-Muslim. It is party politics.

If the replacement were Muslim, no essay would exist.

INEC and “Electoral Nerve Centre”

INEC is not a mosque.
INEC is not an emirate.
INEC is an institution.

Personnel changes happen globally.
Linking them to religion is intellectually bankrupt.

Defence Ministry and Security Leadership

Here is the most insulting argument of all.

The North has suffered the worst insecurity in Nigeria’s history under leaders drawn largely from the same region and religious bloc.

Changing leadership during a crisis is not persecution.
It is necessity.

If insecurity had ended, no one would complain.

5. “Replacing Shettima in 2027”

This is peak paranoia.

Every Vice President in Nigeria has faced replacement speculation. Jonathan. Osinbajo. Sambo.

Power succession discussion is politics, not jihad.

Using rumours to fuel fear today for votes tomorrow is reckless.

6. Media Accusations Against Northern Muslim Figures

This section exposes the real fear: accountability.

Buratai.
Yahaya.
Malami.

These men were not roadside clerks. They were some of the most powerful individuals in the Nigerian state.

Investigating power is not religious profiling.
It is governance.

If they are innocent, investigations should conclude.
But screaming “Islamophobia” every time scrutiny appears is an insult to Muslims who live honestly.

7. “Others Are Not Investigated”

This is a lie repeated until believed.

Southern politicians have been:

– Arrested
– Tried
– Convicted
– Jailed
– Asset-forfeited

The difference?
They did not cry religious war when it happened.

Selective outrage is not evidence. It is bad faith.

8. Dragging El-Rufai, Tambuwal, and Others In

This is where the mask falls off.

El-Rufai is not under attack because he is Muslim.
He is under scrutiny because he:

– Made enemies
– Burned bridges
– Weaponised power
– Then lost access to it

Tambuwal is not persecuted.
He is politically weakened.

Loss of relevance is not victimhood.

9. “Institutions and Money Are Moving to Lagos”

This argument is embarrassingly unserious.

Institutions go where:

– Infrastructure works
– Ports function
– Revenue is generated
– Logistics exist

Lagos is not winning because of religion.
Lagos is winning because it works.

Instead of crying conspiracy, ask:
Why were Northern governors silent while education collapsed?
Why was the industry neglected?
Why was agriculture politicised instead of modernised?

Blaming Lagos is a confession of failure.

10. Insecurity as a Political Weapon

Banditry was not created by Tinubu.
Terrorism did not begin in 2023.
Displacement is not new.

What is new is that elites are trying to convert insecurity into political insurance.

If insecurity equals marginalisation, then the question becomes: Why did it explode under Northern political dominance?

That question terrifies them.

11. “Who Is Safe If Tinubu Wins in 2027?”

Here is the real message: “Return power to us or chaos will follow.”

That is not concern.
That is a threat.

And Nigerians are no longer afraid of it.

This is not a war on Muslims.
It is the end of the untouchable elites.

It is not persecution.
Accountability is knocking late.

It is not a coincidence.
It is power finally rotating.

Those screaming the loudest are not victims.
They are former gatekeepers terrified of a Nigeria they no longer control.

Nigeria will not be held hostage by elite paranoia, recycled fear, or religious blackmail.

Not again.