A video of a northern Islamic scholar speaking in Hausa has sparked fresh debate online over reports that some Islamic clerics were taken to Saudi Arabia to pray for President Bola Tinubu’s reelection.
In the widely circulated video, the elderly cleric speaks from a wooden lectern and says federal government supporters had already sent groups of mallams to Saudi Arabia.
According to the cleric said spoke with one of the participants and asked how the mallam could pray for what he described as a troubled government.
“They took mallams to Saudi Arabia to pray for their reelection.”
“I spoke with one and asked him how they could be praying for such a terrible government. He said they were not praying for their re-election. They were praying for their destruction instead.”
The mallam was also said to have explained that the prayers were not for Tinubu’s reelection but for the downfall of the government.
The video has spread rapidly across social media, with many Nigerians linking the discussion to concerns over insecurity, rising living costs and economic hardship in northern Nigeria.
The development comes after earlier reports this year that large sums of money had been set aside to mobilise religious and traditional leaders behind Tinubu and his running mate.
The latest video has renewed discussion about the role of religion in politics and growing public concerns over economic and security conditions in the country.
