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NATIONAL President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor yesterday faulted figures published by an American research forum which claimed that about 50 per cent of Nigerians are Muslims, challenging the group to tell the world the source of such statistics.

Pastor Oritsejafor also commended the House of Representatives for summoning the Borno State governor, Alhaji Modu Sheriff and the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier-Gen. Yusuf Bomoi to explain their efforts at investigating the murder of a female youth corps member in the Borno State capital, Maiduguri by persons yet to be identified.
Reacting to the October 2009 report by Pew Forum which gave the number of Muslims living in Nigeria as over 78 million, representing five per cent of Islamic adherents in the world, Pastor Oritsejafor said the figures are not acceptable because they do not represent the reality on ground in the country. The report says there are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world.
According to him, the 2006 census exercise which put the population of Nigeria at 140 million deliberately avoided statistics on religion because then President Olusegun Obasanjo prevailed on the Christian community to hearken to the pleas of their Muslim counterparts to exclude the religious clause from the census data.
“So, if the Nigerian government cannot say specifically the number of Christians and Muslims in the country, how then did an American forum come up with such unsubstantiated figures of a particular religious group in the country?” he asked, stressing that despite “the nation’s imperfections, there are certain things we should not accept hook line and sinker.
“I can contest the figures because I am aware of what happened just before the last census when the Christians initially insisted that the religious clause should be included in the census data, so that leaders on both sides can plan well for their adherents,” he added “but the president bowed to pressure from Islamic leaders who insisted that the clause was not necessary.”
Oritsejafor therefore argued that if the recent census figures could not ascertain the number of Christians and Muslims in the country, “what then is the source of the figures Pew Forum is currently parading in its report titled ‘Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A report on the size and distribution of the world’s Muslim population?’”
Not wanting to say that the published figures could have been sponsored for reasons know only to the people behind it, Pastor Oritsejafor also queried some part of the report which says that one in every three Muslims in Sub_Sahara Africa live in Nigeria, saying that there is no basis for the conclusions because the recent Nigerian census had not said.
Also reacting to the recent murder of a member of the National Youth Service Corps, Miss Grace Ushang in Maiduguri, Borno State by persons yet to be identified, the cleric expressed gratitude that the House of Representatives has summoned the state governor over the matter.
According to him, oftentimes when these things happen in the North there is always a conspiracy of silence which has not helped the leadership of the two dominant religions who had been seeking ways of arresting religious uprising in that region.
“It is gratifying that politicians have now seen the need to intervene in incessant crisis in the North,” the PFN helmsman said, adding “hitherto, people have seen such crises as purely religious matters that should be addressed by religious leaders, but now one can heave a sigh of relief that politicians are appreciating the need to consider the political implications of such crises.”
He urged members of the House of Representatives to get to the very bottom of this particular incident because the NYSC is one of the few institutions that has held this nation as one indivisible country.
“Not too long ago a number of them were killed in a religious crisis in Jos and now this. We must bring to book the culprits before parents will begin withdraw their children from the scheme for security reasons,” Oritsejafor cautioned.
Miss Grace Ushang, a member of the Catholic Church was allegedly raped and murdered by yet unknown persons in Maiduguri on September 26, 2009

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/10/10/pfn-disagrees-that-50-nigerians-are-muslims/

Let him go over the roof and cry. The deed is done

What is the relevance of this? Religious or political?

nobody knows how to count, and the few who do, are either afraid or intimidated.

End of story.

@tpia, you are envy

@op- The subject is wrong it is 50.4 or 3 check ur info well,

we are the majority, the U.S have the most advance technology in the world, they counted us through their satelite so why the fuss. Chei cross worshipper wan cry to death. Lmao

envy indeed

that is why nigeria can never develop

There are 60% Muslims 40% Christians and 10 mixed.

The question you must asked yourselves is this
Have the 5-times praying a day muslim or a once and many times in a year praying and fasting christian impacted on this country's fortunes?

Do not even attempt to point that the fact that we have not gone to war is evidence that prayers are working

The relevance is political obviously. Why should it matter how many other people share your faith? Especially as a christian when we know that the road is wide and many are they that find it.

To be in the majority, especially in a corrupt country like nigeria, should be a reason to worry, not feel superior.

Why is he denying it? he should accept the truth.

So what? And 49.99% of them are langushing in abject poverty and living in squalor.

why is he crying?

Why is America always causing confusion every where wit there fake data

mex004:

Why is America always causing confusion every where wit there fake data

The real figures will look significantly over-exagerated

Afterall Kano is more populated than Lagos

muslims were afraid of the inclusion of the religion clause in the census because they know the obvious, but because islam is propagated on ignorance and half truths, adherents will come here and spew nonsense.

Nezan wants to kill himself, hahahaha, the truth is spew do what you want. Lol

i cant laugh no more,thumbs up, insha ALLAH the figure will rise to 80% in 2011

uplawal:

i cant laugh no more,thumbs up, insha ALLAH the figure will rise to 80% in 2011

How?. When 2000 muslims in Nigeria convert to Christianity yearly.

Guy, Don't waste ur time replying all these RELIGIOUS zealot

@OP

and so what, . . . true Christians will always be in the minority, even in the church.

so is the electricity problem fixed now?

Check that percentage very well.
How many mosques are there in Nigeria?
That 50% are muslims.

abuzola999:

Forget number of mosques, even christian bear witness that churches are now business center no street in lagos that doesn't have up to 2 church

That shows that xtians are dominating everywhere. Lots of your muslim brothers and sisters run to churches for miracles.

I couldn't help stop grinning when reading the OP and the replies made to it.

@otitokoro1, u said it all, and that is truth if they like it or not.
@yemmight, don't mind the blind people. i have witnesses so many of them are in church now.

We are the majority, smile

@beautymc, Those ones that you see in your church,if not repented will definately smile to HELLFIRE with you

@uplawal, I know u are already langushing in hell fire. They are so happy to come church where they feel real God.

u can say that again,we shall know who is who on that fearful day

So sad for the Ghost worshipper

@poster :

That is not true. Only 30% of Nigerians are muslims and I am looking forward to when that satanic cult will be eradicated. It is causing backwardness for Nigeria and Nigerians especially the Northern Nigerians.

Hehehe, you can die of envy mr focus. Hurray we are the majority