President Bola Tinubu is mounting a calculated charm offensive to repair the fallout from his controversial Muslim-Muslim ticket and blunt the enduring appeal of opposition leader Peter Obi in Nigeria’s Christian-majority regions.
After losing Christian support over his Muslim-Muslim ticket in the last election, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu is now making strategic efforts to regain trust in Christian-majority regions. His attendance at the Vatican for Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration in May was seen as a symbolic political move to bridge the religious divide ahead of the 2027 polls.
“A Muslim president travelling to the Vatican with five bishops was a master stroke,” said the president’s spokesman, Sunday Dare, adding it shows Tinubu is unbiased.
At St. Peter’s Square, Tinubu was seen engaging with senior Catholic clergy, including several cardinals. But the symbolic moment that captured most attention was his exchange with opposition leader Peter Obi, a devout Catholic and papal knight, who was also in attendance. According to sources, it was former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi – himself a papal knight – who facilitated the interaction. Escorting Obi to Tinubu’s seat in the section reserved for heads of state, Fayemi reportedly said: “Mr. President, welcome to our church, and thank you for honouring the Pope with your presence.”
Tinubu rebranding as unifying national figure
Tinubu, known for his wit, responded: “I should be the one welcoming you and Peter. I’m the head of the Nigerian delegation.” The remark drew laughter from Obi, who replied, “Yes, indeed. We are members of your delegation.”
The moment, shared on social media, is being interpreted as part of a broader charm offensive by Tinubu to rebrand himself as a unifying national figure and mitigate the religious tensions that shadowed his 2023 election victory.
Tinubu’s choice of fellow Muslim Kashim Shettima as his running mate in 2022 sparked backlash from Christian conservatives and was rejected by the Christian Association of Nigeria. While Tinubu defended the decision as a strategic move to win northern votes, analysts viewed it as a risky gamble in a religiously diverse country where nearly half the electorate identifies as Christian.
The backlash to Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket was swift, prompting key Christian allies to distance themselves. Babachir Lawal, who had supported Tinubu’s candidacy from the start, and Daniel Bwala, a prominent All Progressives Congress (APC) loyalist, both publicly broke ranks, becoming outspoken critics of the administration.
“We were described as anti-Christ. They said we had sold our souls and were supporting jihadists,” recalls Isaac Abrak, chairman of the Northern Christian Youth Professionals.
A Muslim president travelling to the Vatican with five bishops was a master stroke
Abrak, a journalist and former campaigner for Tinubu, tells The Africa Report that he received threats from members of his church and community, many of whom had borne the brunt of past ethno-religious violence in northern Nigeria.
With Obi standing as the sole Christian candidate of a major political party, he quickly became the natural choice for Christian conservatives, particularly in the South East, the Niger Delta and the Middle Belt.
During electioneering, Obi visited scores of churches in several parts of the country where he was given a standing ovation. In some instances, influential clerics came out boldly to endorse him as the candidate of the church.
Tinubu, by contrast, struggled to gain traction among evangelical Christians. He performed poorly among Christian voters outside his native South West and managed to win only in Benue State in the last election.
Winning back Christian voters
However, following the deeply divisive election, Tinubu began making concerted efforts to win back the trust of Christian voters, particularly in the north. He set his sights on Kaduna, a flashpoint of religious violence where Christian minorities in southern Kaduna have suffered repeated massacres. As a symbolic and strategic move, he appointed General Christopher Musa, a native of southern Kaduna, as chief of defence staff, an olive branch to a region long clamouring for protection and representation.
The president followed up by establishing a federal university in southern Kaduna and appointing revered bishop Matthew Kukah as pro-chancellor.
The restoration of peace in the volatile state began to endear the Christian communities to the president so much so that the Northern chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which had initially rejected Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, has started to warm up to his leadership.
We were described as anti-Christ. They said we had sold our souls and were supporting jihadists
Reverend Yakubu Pam, who heads the northern wing of CAN, acknowledged the shift in perception. While reaffirming the association’s long-standing desire to see a Christian hold one of the top two executive positions, he credited the president for taking steps toward inclusivity.
“For me, the most important thing is an inclusive government, and as far as they have done a Muslim-Muslim ticket, we have also seen reasonable inclusiveness. Left for us, we will say yes, let’s have Christians in certain positions like vice president and other positions to reflect our diversity,” Pam told journalists.
2027 and the ‘Obidient’ movement
Political columnist Majeed Dahiru argues that fears of Muslim domination are fading, but violence in Christian-majority states like Benue, Plateau and Taraba continues. Tinubu’s camp believes his electoral chances remain strong if security improves before 2027. However, opposition figures like Tanko Yunusa of the ‘Obidient’ movement insist the ongoing violence, economic hardship and public anger will work against the president in the next election.
Obi continues to command strong support in Nigeria’s Christian-dominated South East and Niger Delta. To counter this, Tinubu has been actively courting governors from these regions to defect to his APC. In Delta and Edo – states won by Obi in 2023 – the APC now controls the political machinery.
There is growing speculation that if Obi drops his presidential bid and agrees to be Atiku Abubakar’s running mate, the evangelical support he enjoyed in 2023 could splinter.
“The dynamics have changed,” says Bosun Oladele, a former lawmaker and key Tinubu campaigner. “Obi will be demystified come 2027,” he tells The Africa Report.
(The Africa Report)
