By Barrister Bilal Akinola Husayn
Introduction
Since June 2023, Nigeria has witnessed an unsettling shift, one that threatens its delicate unity, fairness, and social fabric.
The North, long a stabilizing pillar of the nation’s identity, now finds itself systematically marginalized, politically isolated, and economically weakened.
Across politics, security, religion, and governance, a pattern has emerged, one that paints a disturbing picture of selective justice, religious bias, and deliberate exclusion of northern Muslims from the mainstream of national life.
This is not mere coincidence; it is a carefully woven web of policies and decisions that together form a quiet but coordinated persecution.
1. The Alleged Coup and the Religion of Power
The alleged coup plot, implicating mostly northern Muslim officers, has exposed yet another layer of discrimination under the so-called Muslim-Muslim ticket of the Tinubu administration.
Unsurprisingly, this is happening under the watch of a Christian Chief of Defence Staff, Christian Chief of Army Staff, Christian Inspector-General of Police, Christian Director-General of the DSS, and a Christian Chief of Defence Intelligence.
This selective crackdown appears less about national security and more about optics, a desperate attempt to impress Western audiences and dispel accusations of Christian persecution.
Yet, in doing so, it has confirmed precisely what it seeks to deny: that Nigeria’s current leadership has institutionalized bias as state policy.
2. Targeted Persecution of Muslim Opposition Figures
A pattern too consistent to ignore has emerged: northern Muslim leaders in opposition politics are being systematically targeted and silenced.
Prof Usman Yusuf former Executive Secretary National Health insurance Scheme an independent minded person who has challenged some government policies has been persecuted for voicing his mind and that of many other Nigerians.
Nasir El-Rufai, former governor and outspoken opposition voice, remains under relentless scrutiny despite no proven wrongdoing.
Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano faces constant federal interference aimed at undermining his legitimacy.Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, former governor of Sokoto, is also entangled in a web of political hostility.
All the above are facing persecution through proxy mechanisms, primarily via the deployment of a religiously biased EFCC Chairman.
These are not isolated incidents; they reflect a coordinated campaign to destroy dissenting northern Muslim voices and dismantle the political strength of the region.
3. Exonerating Southern Christian Politicians
While opposition leaders from the North are being hounded, southern Christian politicians continue to enjoy open protection from the same institutions of state.For instance, Ayo Fayose, former governor of Ekiti State, was hurriedly acquitted in a corruption case, reflecting the biased intent of the Tinubu administration.
Similarly, Ifeanyi Okowa, another southern Christian former governor, has had his corruption case swept under the carpet since joining the ruling party.
These cases highlight a growing trend of selective justice and unequal treatment that has become the hallmark of the current administration.
4. Selective Justice: Two Laws, Two Peoples
While northern Muslims face ceaseless investigations, arrests, and public humiliation, southern Christian officials accused of grave offenses continue to walk free.
Consider the cases of Minister Betta Edu, Minister Oju (indicted by the National Assembly), and Minister Nnaji, whose forgery allegations remain untouched. No arrests, no hearings, no accountability.
This stark double standard betrays the very spirit of equality before the law. When justice becomes selective, it ceases to be justice; it becomes an instrument of persecution.
In this system, the North’s integrity is questioned while the South’s misdeeds are excused, a dangerous imbalance that corrodes national unity and deepens religious mistrust.
5. Assault on Northern Traditional Institutions
Kano — the beating heart of northern identity and commercial nerve center, now finds its revered traditional institution under siege.
Once a beacon of stability and moral authority, the emirate has become a battlefield of political manipulation.What should be purely a state matter has now been dragged under federal influence, promoting division among the masses and degenerating into a major security threat ahead of the 2027 elections.
By interfering in traditional affairs and fostering division among rulers, the government is not merely attacking individuals, it is dismantling the cultural spine that binds the North together. Undermining the emirate system erodes centuries of cohesion and replaces wisdom with chaos, a deliberate weakening of northern unity at its very core.
6. Severing of Niger Republic–Nigeria Ties: Punishing Northern States
For generations, Nigeria and the Niger Republic have shared intelligence, curbed banditry, and maintained vibrant trade and cultural ties deeply rooted in Hausa-Fulani Muslim heritage. However, the Tinubu administration’s abrupt disengagement from Niger has ruptured centuries of coexistence and cooperation.
The once vibrant, secure cross border markets of Katsina, Sokoto, and Kebbi now lie silent, leaving traders destitute and communities fractured. By shutting down this vital relationship, the government has not only crippled livelihoods but also sent a clear message, that the interests of northern Muslims are dispensable in today’s political calculations.
While economic diplomacy thrives in Lagos and other southwestern states, the North watches as its lifelines are deliberately cut off, a symbolic act of punishment disguised as foreign policy.
7. Misplaced Priorities: Coastal Roads over Northern Revival
While the North bleeds from insecurity, poverty, and underdevelopment, the federal government’s focus remains elsewhere, on luxurious projects like the multitrillion-naira coastal highway, designed primarily to serve southern economic corridors.
Meanwhile, critical infrastructure in the North remains abandoned, and the security situation continues to deteriorate. Members of the armed forces lose their lives daily due to inadequate equipment and poor welfare conditions.
This is not mere neglect; it is an intentional misallocation of national resources that sidelines northern development and undermines Nigeria’s overall progress.
8. Selective Outreach: The First Lady’s Exclusionary Engagement
Symbolism in leadership matters. The First Lady’s consistent visits to predominantly non-Muslim northern states, where she donates billions of naira to alleviate suffering, while neglecting Muslim-majority areas, reinforces a painful perception of exclusion.
Public engagements that should unify have instead drawn clear lines of division, creating a tale of two Norths: one embraced and celebrated, the other ignored and vilified.
These optics are not accidental. They feed into a broader narrative of selective inclusion, where political loyalty and religious identity determine who is deemed worthy of attention and compassion.
Conclusion:
A Nation at a CrossroadsThe unfolding persecution of northern Muslims is more than a political issue; it is a national tragedy in the making. Every act of exclusion, every selective prosecution, every silenced voice chips away at Nigeria’s fragile unity.
If left unchecked, this pattern of bias will drive deeper resentment, sow enduring divisions, and push millions of northern Muslims to believe they have no place in the country they helped build.
Nigeria must remember that the strength of a nation lies not in its highways or speeches, but in its justice, in the fairness with which it treats its people, regardless of faith or geography.
To persecute the North is to endanger Nigeria itself. The time to restore balance, inclusion, and justice is now before the bonds that hold us together unravel beyond repair.
*Barrister Bilal Akinola Husayn is the Secretary General, Amalgamated Muslim Rights Concerns (AMURIC), Ibadan, Oyo State.
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