Ardo hits Primate Ayodele over hate rhetorics against Fulbe race
By Mohd Ismail
Prominent politician and historian, Dr. Umar Ardo, has issued a strong rebuttal to comments credited to Primate Elijah Ayodele, leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, who in a recent video warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against appointing Nigerians of Fulani extraction into sensitive positions of government.
In the viral clip, Ayodele reportedly alleged that such appointments would lead to betrayal, “shock” and “pain” for the President. But Ardo, in a press statement released on Friday, described the cleric’s utterances as “reckless, divisive and dangerous,” insisting that they have no basis in history or morality.
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According to Ardo, silence in the face of such comments would amount to condoning falsehood and bigotry. He stressed that Nigeria’s history is replete with examples of Fulani leaders and professionals who served the country with loyalty, honour and distinction.
“As a historian, I know that Nigeria’s history does not support Ayodele’s sweeping generalisation. From Sir Ahmadu Bello, who built Northern Nigeria into a model of governance, to General Murtala Muhammad, who sacrificed his life for the sake of the country, to numerous other academics, technocrats, administrators and military officers, the record speaks for itself. Betrayals and failures in leadership have never been a portion of the Fulani people. We are a people of honour and excellence,” he said.
Ardo accused Ayodele of promoting “Fulbephobia disguised as prophecy,” adding that such stereotyping is hypocritical and contrary to Christian values.
He further argued that religious leaders are called to inspire and reconcile rather than incite and divide. Singling out an entire ethnic group for condemnation, he maintained, undermines national cohesion and exposes double standards.
“If it is wrong to stereotype the Yoruba or the Igbo, or any other tribe for that matter, it is equally wrong to stereotype the Fulani.
“The double standard exposes the hypocrisy behind his so-called prophecy. Such utterances are not prophecy; they are poisonous threats to national unity,” he added.
Ardo stressed that government appointments should never be guided by ethnic suspicion but by merit, competence, integrity and loyalty to the Nigerian state. He warned that Ayodele’s comments risked deepening mistrust in an already fragile nation struggling to overcome divisions along religious and ethnic lines.
“To suggest that competence and loyalty can only be judged by tribe is to undermine the very foundation of a united Nigeria. Every community in this country has patriots and opportunists; the task of leadership is to identify the former, not to demonise entire peoples,” he said.
The Adamawa-born politician therefore called on Nigerians, especially opinion leaders and clerics, to rise above ethnic prejudices and condemn divisive rhetoric. He demanded an apology from Primate Ayodele to both the Fulani and the Nigerian people.
“Primate Ayodele owes the nation, and particularly the Fulani, an unreserved apology. His words are not from God; they are from the vault of human bigotry,. Nigeria cannot afford such dangerous counsel from its pulpits. He should be ashamed of himself. He is a disgrace to the cassock he is wearing,” Ardo reiterated.
