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A retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sheriff Abubakar Rabiu, has spoken a truth that has been long whispered but rarely declared aloud in Northern Nigeria. In a searing open letter that has gone viral across the country, the former police chief took aim at a dangerous trend that has, for too long, been tolerated in silence — the reckless and inflammatory preaching that fuels religious hatred and violence.

Rabiu’s message is simple yet profound: the greatest threat to peace in Northern Nigeria is not foreign enemies, but homegrown fanaticism. His words should serve as a wake-up call to Muslim clerics, traditional leaders, and political elites across the region.

A Dangerous Pulpit

For decades, extremist clerics in parts of Northern Nigeria have turned the pulpit into a battlefield, preaching venom and division under the guise of religion. Friday sermons that should promote compassion and moral guidance often degenerate into open attacks on Christians and other non-Muslims. The result is a generation of angry, misled youths who see intolerance as piety and hatred as faith.

Rabiu, in his courageous intervention, reminded his readers that no one holds the key to paradise — and that calling fellow Nigerians “Arna” or “Kafir” is not an act of worship but an abuse of religion. “This madness gave birth to Boko Haram,” he declared, and he is right.

It is this same spirit of intolerance, wrapped in false piety, that has dragged the North into cycles of violence, destroyed communities, and tarnished Islam’s image before the world.

A Call for Responsibility

Nigeria’s constitution is clear: the country is a secular nation, not an Islamic or Christian state. Every citizen has the right to worship freely, without fear or insult. No religion has a monopoly on truth, and no preacher has the right to condemn another citizen’s faith.

It is time for Muslim clerics, scholars, and community leaders to take responsibility for the consequences of their words. Preaching is a sacred duty, not a license for division. Those who turn their pulpits into breeding grounds of hate must be called to order — by their peers, by the authorities, and by the law.

This is why Rabiu’s call for legislation to criminalise hate preaching and child street begging (the Almajiri system) deserves national attention. These are not mere social irritants; they are direct feeders of extremism. Every child left to beg in the streets is a potential victim of radicalisation. Every unchallenged hate sermon is a spark that could ignite communal fire.

The North Must Lead Its Own Renewal

For too long, Northern elites — political, traditional, and religious — have looked away while this poison spread. Silence has become complicity. That must end. The North must reclaim its moral and religious leadership from extremists who exploit ignorance and poverty to advance their narrow agendas.

True Islam does not preach hate. It commands peace, tolerance, and compassion. Those who incite violence in its name are not defenders of the faith but betrayers of it. The time has come for respected clerics and scholars to speak loudly and clearly against the misuse of religion.

A Test of National Leadership

President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly also have a duty in this matter. Rabiu’s warning is not a rant; it is a policy brief born of experience. The federal and state governments must work with religious bodies to enforce laws that deter hate preaching, protect freedom of worship, and reform the Almajiri system.

Ignoring this call would be costly. The world is watching how Nigeria manages its internal religious dynamics. The same complacency that once allowed Boko Haram to fester must not be repeated.

Peace Is the Real Faith

What Rabiu has done is not an attack on Islam; it is an appeal for its redemption. He has reminded Nigerians that religion must heal, not harm. The peace Nigeria once enjoyed in the 1970s — when Muslims and Christians shared meals, intermarried, and mourned together — can be reclaimed if only those who command the pulpit begin to use it for peace.

Every true cleric should embrace that call. Every responsible leader should support it. Because a pulpit that spreads hate is not a house of worship — it is a weapon of war.

Just as the North must reclaim its faith from fanatics before it loses its peace, Nigeria must choose peace. Our clerics must choose responsibility. And our leaders must act before the poison spreads again.