5 January,2026
by Mohammed Bello Doka
For years, Nigerians have been told to fear Islamisation. As 2027 approaches, that fear has been weaponised again, with loud demands that Nigeria must have a Christian Vice President because President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima are Muslims. The claim is that Nigeria is under threat of Islamic domination.
The facts tell a radically different story.
THE GOVERNORS: WHERE REAL POWER RESIDES
Nigeria’s most powerful sub-national office is the governorship. On this score, the picture is unmistakable.
Southern Nigeria has 17 states. All 17 are governed by Christians. There is not a single Muslim governor in the South.
South-West (6 states):
Lagos — Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Christian)
Ogun — **Dapo AbiodunChristian)
Oyo — Seyi Makinde (Christian)
Osun — Ademola Adeleke (Christian)
Ondo — Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Christian)
Ekiti — Biodun Oyebanji (Christian)
South-South (6 states):
Rivers — Siminalayi Fubara (Christian)
Akwa Ibom — Umo Eno (Christian)
Delta — Sheriff Oborevwori (Christian)
Bayelsa — Douye Diri (Christian)
Cross River — Bassey Otu (Christian)
Edo — Godwin Obaseki (Christian)
South-East (5 states):
Abia — Alex Otti (Christian)
Anambra — Chukwuma Soludo (Christian)
Imo — Hope Uzodinma (Christian)
Enugu — Peter Mbah (Christian)
Ebonyi — Francis Nwifuru (Christian)
Zero Muslim governors. Seventeen Christian governors.
THE NORTH: CHRISTIANS STILL GOVERN
Out of 19 Northern states, three are governed by Christians:
Benue — Hyacinth Alia (Christian, Catholic priest)
Plateau — Caleb Mutfwang (Christian)
Taraba — Agbu Kefas (Christian)
Christians govern in both North and South. Muslims govern only in the North.
DEPUTY GOVERNORS: EVEN THE ‘BALANCE’ IS ONE-SIDED
According to Adejare Ibrahim, only two deputy governors in the South-West are Muslims. The remaining four are Christians. He further states that all deputy governors in the South-East and South-South are Christians.
That leaves Southern Nigeria with 17 Christian governors, at most two Muslim deputies, and 15 Christian deputies.
FEDERAL POWER: WHO CONTROLS THE STATE?
At the centre, Christians hold some of the most powerful institutions of the Nigerian state:
Senate President — Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom, Catholic)
Secretary to the Government of the Federation — George Akume (Benue, Catholic)
Head of Service — Didi Walson-Jack (Rivers, Anglican)
Minister of the FCT — Nyesom Wike (Rivers, Anglican)
Minister of Aviation — Festus Keyamo (Delta)
Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria — Olayemi Cardoso (Lagos)
Chairman, EFCC — Ola Olukoyede (Ekiti)
Chief of Naval Staff — Emmanuel Ogalla (Anambra)
This is not symbolism. This is institutional control.
EVERYDAY NIGERIA: A CHRISTIAN-CODED STATE
Nigeria shuts down on Sundays, not Fridays.
Christmas, Easter, and Good Friday anchor the national calendar.
Lawyers dress in traditions rooted in Christian Europe.
School calendars, graduations, and ceremonies follow Christian cycles.
Churches dominate city skylines.
Christian prayers open national events.
These are not features of an Islamised country.
THE 2027 DEMAND AND THE FINAL CONTRADICTION
Christians now demand a Christian Vice President in 2027 for “balance”. If that happens, then the project has reached its logical end: the presidency, the vice presidency, the South, most federal institutions, and the national culture all aligned to Christianity.
And what of Muslims under President Bola Tinubu? How many prominent Muslim leaders sit at the heart of his cabinet and power structure? Very few — almost negligible.
Critics have long questioned whether Tinubu even understands Islam beyond convenience. He has been publicly criticised for struggling at Islamic functions with the Shahada and Surah Al-Fātiḥah, basic recitations that even a three-year-old Muslim child learns early. This is not whispered gossip; it is an open point of discussion among Muslims who feel abandoned by a president they are told represents them.
THE CONCLUSION NO ONE WANTS TO FACE
The evidence on the ground points not to Islamisation, but to an active, advancing Christianisation of Nigeria — politically, institutionally, and culturally. Adejare Ibrahim warned of this trajectory in Yorubaland, describing a coordinated push he termed Redeemisation. What he described regionally now mirrors a national pattern.
So the real question is no longer who is Islamising Nigeria.
The real question is who benefits from pretending that a country this thoroughly Christian-dominated is under Islamic threat — and who is fooling whom.
Mohammed Bello Doka can be reached via [email protected]
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opinion