The conclusive Osun election and the choice the people is an eye opener to the ongoing debate on the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC presidential flag bearer.
It is much easier to express the singular force behind the attempt to discredit the APC’s decision and stoke up sentiments against the party. The same elements of the society, CAN, the PDP paid influencers, and others who have been quite busy making dangerous religious and regional issues out of a mere politically calculated strategy of a party, were all relatively at ease with the same religious leadership combination in Osun state. The issue was not raised for once, nor discussed at any fora, not even from the Muslim society; because, it was all grandly accepted that what the state needed is a leadership that would perform and deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of Osun State. The Muslims and the Christians alike, all lined up behind an all-Christian ticket. We should take it from here; it is time the national argument ended and we begin to concentrate on the factors that are important and beneficial to our collective growth and development as a nation.
Much ado about nothing? Was the Osun case not similar to that of APC that has become a lingering uproar generated by the APC Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket combination? In our characteristic intolerance along thin lines of religious and regional dichotomy, and to fan the embers of political control to amaze electoral support, we have intentionally, and for the purpose of achieving selfish and political goals, equated a politically calculated strategic ticket to a declaration of religious war.
Abandoning the more damming emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of PDP as against the overwhelming conclusion of the entire Southern Nigeria to produce the next president of the country. The region has come to accept the deception and disappointment and is getting set to even defend the attack on its capacity to produce a president by the party they dole on, but hypocritically, would create an unending narration of an APC Muslim-Muslim ticket as an attack on the sanctity of their faith, relevance and a united Nigeria. They saw nothing wrong in PDP having a Northern presidential candidate despite their perennial cries for equity, because it is PDP, but would cry wolf about APC’s strategic Muslim-Muslim combination to win election.
Though, it is not surprising that the mere political calculation of a party and a presidential candidate whose sole consideration for the choice made is to appeal to targeted voters demography and win elections; but has been weaponised into a dangerous rhetoric of war of faith that is been propagated at the speed of light across the length and breadth of the country and even beyond. For decades, religion has become a central political instrument that politicians keep using to their selfish advantage to partition the citizens into opposing ends and create their much needed electoral support base. We have gone backward more than we develop forward because we value the support we accrued on the back of division more than the unity of purpose on the back of mutually benefiting values for the people and the country. From 1960, and till now, we have won elections on the back of putting the people against one another, not because of their support for positive manifestos or precedential performance of the contestants, but on the strength of in-fighting to preserve our religious faith, tribal relevancies and regional recognitions.
Today, and as we draw closer to 2023, the most worrisome development for us as a nation would remain the fact that in our over fixation on religious and regional considerations as determinants of leadership virtues, we have totally lost focus of what are at stake for us as a people and a nation; at a time when we should be busy objectively scrutinising the antecedents and capacities of candidates vying for political offices, we are busy playing religious and regional games and setting up the country for a further derailment along the duo.
Where is the noise about the Muslim-Muslim ticket coming from? Who is masterminding it? A church that has failed the country in providing a standard for morality, but rather becomes utterly commercialised to the point that it has become more of appendages of some political party and a celebrated site of corruption; or the tribal egoistic elements who are bent on using all possible weapons to drive home tribal agendas. It was in this same country that Chief Obafemi Awolowo ran with Chief Umeadi; not only both Christians but also both Southerners. It was here in Nigeria that Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, a Christian picked Prof. Ishaya Audu, also a Christian as his running mate. Aguiyi Ironsi and Babafemi Ogundipe ruled this country on an all-Christian ticket, and yet all was well with the country. Let us not also forget that the Buhari-Idiagbon Military rule was an all-Muslim rule and there was no disapproval from any quarters then.
This level of hypocrisy and bigotry would not help us as a nation; they only separates us more and deepen our disunity. We do not need elements within us who have become committed to serving their personal interest at the expense of delicate cords holding the country. The same people who midwife the
same-religion-tickets across their state, and saw nothing wrong with it, would suddenly become the arrow head of attacks against the APC’s same-religion-ticket without any shame. The likes of Aisha Yusefu who vigorously campaign for a Christian-Christian ticket of Obaseki and Philip Shuaibu in Edo state that boasts of a little above forty percent of its population, would today, blast the social media with the wild allegation of the attempts by APC to Islamised the country via a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
Wouldn’t we ask the question: if PDP or any other party had picked a Northern Christian as its presidential flag bearer, and needs to pick a running mate from the South-East, would they have picked a Muslim from Enugu or any of the South-East states to evade a same religion ticket; or rather, go the way that would guarantee them the votes of the region? No reasonable party or presidential candidate who wants to win at the poll will give out his vice-presidential aspirant ticket on the basis of religion to a candidate who would exert no influence over the votes of his or her region. It is a known fact in Nigeria that the block northern voters would rather vote for a Muslim ticket, while the Southern people would prefer to vote for a Christian ticket. As unwholesome as the reality is, it remains that as at now, religious sentiments apart, Tinubu picking a Northern Christian running mate would have been the end of his aspiration even before the game started.
I watched the events as they unfolded; all the way from the emergence of Tinubu as the APC presidential flag bearer till the decision of his running mate. Firstly, I saw the handwriting of the opposition party on most events as they orchestrated the media to draw support for the disqualification of the man from the primary, using age and health to stoke away support for his candidature while at the same time were busy expending their resources to support the emergence of any other candidate but Tinubu. It was the same game play when the time for him to pick his running mate came; PDP knows all too well that Tinubu is a hard bone for them to crack and his combination with a strong Muslim candidate from the core North would literarily skew the context more in his favour; and the jittery opposition party has been struggling, using all instruments of propaganda to limit the damage the choice of APC is making to their aspiration to return to Aso Rock.
Our challenge as a people and a country today is not a Muslim-Muslim ticket, but the increasing population of our citizens and groups who are bent on polarising our system along very dangerous lines. The increasing number of religious leaders who benefit more from unstable developments in the nation; who prefer to anchor their supports as appendages of a particular political party and would go all the way to destabilise the system in favour of their preferred party and candidates. The very people who despite the recorded atrocities of PDP would never see or complain about the party have abandoned their calling to turn their pulpits and altars to political platforms to attack one party while drumming support for another.
This week, I would round up borrowing from the words of Nelson Mandela that “Our nation is not divided by tribe, region, gender, or religion. Our country is divided into wise people and fools. And fools divide themselves by tribe, colour, gender, or religion.”
“It will take a miracle for Labour Party with no structure in the grassroots to win the election.”
Answering questions today, July 22, on Arise TV programme, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar said that Obi’s supporters had said through the social media that they have one million votes in Osun State “but how many votes do they have in real life?
“In the northern part of the country, about 90 percent of people don’t have access to social media. Most of the electorates are not on social media.
“I really don’t expect the Labour Party to take much votes from the PDP as people are speculating. They have no structure at all levels, with no governor, and lawmakers.”
Atiku, who in 2019, picked Peter Obi as his running mate and with whom he secured 11.2 million votes, admitted that he misses Obi.
He said that he could have picked Obi as his running mate this time around but that the former Anambra governor did not “consult me” before dumping the PDP to declare for president on the Labour Party platform.
Atiku said that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who he finally picked as his running mate for the 2023 election and Peter Obi are two different people.
“Not that I don’t miss Peter Obi, but unfortunately Peter didn’t consult me. “We were going on and on then suddenly I heard he has announced being in the Labour Party.
“I think he informed me three days after he declared for Labour Party, So he did not even consult me.
“First of all, this is a guy (Okowa) that is very brilliant (and) very very educated. “He started his political career from his local government, from local government to a commissioner, from a commissioner to a senator and from a Senator to a governor. So, in terms of all the political parameters, he really has got the experience and experience matters quite a lot.
“As I announced in my statement, I am seeking for a vice president who from day one can be a president. So, he is calm, he has acquired quite an experience and he is intellectually brilliant. So, these are some of the reasons why I picked him.”
Presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has suggested the ways to go to address the cost of servicing Nigeria’s debt, which he quoted the Finance Minister to have said had surpassed the government retained revenue of N310 billion in the last quarter o this year.
According to Atiku, in a statement today, July 22, which he personally signed, “this action must be in breach of all known reasonable debt-sustainability thresholds. Second, it puts a big question mark on the capacity of the government to manage its rising debt profile without endangering macroeconomic stability.
“Indeed, I am concerned that this action is already exposing Nigeria to financial stability issues as we slip from a medium risk of debt distress to high risk of debt distress.” He therefore, advised “to as a matter of urgency, take immediate steps to slow down the rate of debt accumulation by promoting more Public Private Partnerships in critical infrastructure funding and identifying more innovative funding options. He wants the government to also review the current utilization of all borrowed funds and ensure that they are deployed more judiciously.
“Specifically, government must ensure that all borrowed funds are for priority infrastructure projects that would generate income, boost output, and put the economy on the path of sustainable growth. “Review the country’s debt strategy by focusing on concessional and semi-concessional sources with lower interest rates and relatively long-term maturity. The government must reduce the issuance of short-dated debt instruments; “And take steps to improve its spending efficiency and drastically cut unnecessary and wasteful expenditures.”
The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu has confirmed the pressure which President Muhammadu Buhari went through and ignored to ensure the evolution of true democracy in Nigeria.
Speaking today, July 22, at a meeting with the APC stakeholders, hosted by President Buhari at the Presidential villa, Senator Adamu said: “under pressure to dictate or suggest, you (Buhari) were determined that the democratic process should be given the opportunity to work and what we have seen is that democratic processes can produce very excellent results.”
The party chairman joined other stakeholders to express gratitude to the President for his exemplary leadership which has strengthened the party in the aftermath of the recent convention and primaries.
“Our main goal is to see the success of the APC in the forthcoming general elections. There’s no better parting gift than to ensure that the APC produces the next President.”
He said that the party is proud of the Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima.
This was even as the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Governor of Kebbi State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu commended President Buhari for setting a worthy precedence on internal democracy in political parties.
He attributed the gradual return of normalcy to the North Eastern part of the country to the spirited interventions approved by the President, acknowledging the rise in agricultural activities and food production in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.
Also, the Vice Presidential candidate, Shettima expressed the willingness of the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu and himself to serve Nigeria with justice, equity and fairness.
“We want to solicit the support of the President once INEC lifts the ban on open-air campaigns and we want to latch on to your achievements and brand name to victory, and consolidate the leadership of the party.”
Speaking at the occasion, President Buhari assured that his concern for the unity, peace, security and prosperity of the country will continue to be his concern even after leaving office at the end of his two-term tenure of eight years by next year, 2023.
The President, who thanked the delegation led by the party chairman for the kind words on his role in processes leading to the emergence of the party’s Presidential candidate and his running mate.
“I want to thank you all for the roles you played in the build-up, first to our national convention earlier this year, and later, to the primary elections.
“You were all of one mind, wanting the best for the Party, with the candidate emerging in a free and fair manner.
“For us all, the cohesion and unity of the Party was the first priority, and ambition was second. I am glad that you all saw the larger picture, rather than narrow, self-serving interests.”
The President expressed confidence that Tinubu and Shettima would not disappoint the Party, and Nigerians at large.
He also commended the Party for resolving to further mobilize more Nigerians, particularly youths, to register and get their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), adding “it is the way to go.”
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has said that he picked the governor of Delta State as running mate for the 2023 election because he can deliver.
Atiku, in an interview on Arise TV today, July 22, insisted that he should be given the benefit of doubt for his choice of a running mate, stressing: “I chose who I feel can deliver among the nominees that were presented to me.
“I didn’t reject Wike. I picked who can deliver. Wike is brilliant and tenacious. “Going by history, I picked an Igbo as running mate in 2007 and in 2019. I still picked an Igbo as running mate for 2023.
“The committee that presented the three nominees was chaired by the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom. They recommended three people, so I picked one. People should be fair to me and state the facts.”
Some governors in the PDP, including Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, have expressed their displeasure over Atiku’s decision to pick Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, not Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike as running mate.
However, Atiku said that the party is discussing with the Rivers governor who wields a lot of power in the party to resolve the crisis his choice has generated.
“We are reaching out to Wike and we are talking with him and I believe very soon we will find a reconciliation. In fact, very soon, because we are talking to him.
“We are talking to his governor colleagues. I am very optimistic we are going to resolve our internal crisis and move on.”
Today, I join friends, family and colleagues to celebrate a worthy journalist: a terrific reporter and editor/publisher with eyes for details.
Max Amuchie bears the mark of a rounded media professional whose many years of crisscrossing the media ecosystem has endeared him to the hearts of many. He is and has been an incurable believer in social justice, equity and fairness and this has over the years defined his stand on issues.
His reportage and commentaries on national issues embody the selflessness, fearlessness and abiding passion that define the typical Nigerian journalist.
On his coronation today, July 22, as the President of Rotary Club of Abuja CBD, I trust that, as is typical of him, he will birth a new order of selflessness and goodwill to all men which underpin the humanitarian totem of Rotary International.
Permit me to offer you this piece of advice: use your office to promote community service, integrity and advance goodwill, peace, and understanding in the world, starting from your immediate environment.
May it be said of you that during your tenure, the fame of your District was noised at home and abroad. May the good Lord, the custodian of wisdom and knowledge, grant you wisdom and understanding to lead; may your tenure be a reference point for excellence, peerless humanitarian service delivery and peace that stills every storm.
The world is in pain. Our dear country is roiled by violence and rocked on all sides by a hailstorm of crimes and criminalities. The human community needs healing. May you be part of that healing process by giving food to the hungry; caring for the ailing and the weak; and above all, entrenching the values of a humane world which Rotary stands for. Congratulations, my dear brother.
Ken Ugbechie, a Publisher, Political Economist, wrote from Abuja.
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for 2023 election, Peter Obi has said that 100 million poor Nigerians, 35 million unemployed and God are his structures as he dismissed criticisms that he has no political structure to win election.
“I have said it before when people talk about structure, that my structure is the 100 million Nigerians living in poverty. 35 million people unemployed. Those people who are finding it difficult to live.”
Peter Obi, who spoke to news men today, July 21 in Makurdi, Benue State after holding a closed-door meeting with Governor Samuel Ortom, stressed: “Nigerians today are spending over 100 percent of their money on feeding; they are my structure. And above all, the most important structure is the Almighty God.”
Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has made the last assessment of the projects executed in the last seven years of the Muhammadu Buhari government by the minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello.
The Senate Committee, led by its chairman, Senator Tolu Odebiyi, during an oversight visit to key projects under construction in the nation’s capital today, July 21, said: “we believe that in the twilight of this administration, which is about 10 months, it is important that we catalogue all the projects that have been done, prioritize the ones that must be completed before the end of this term so that we can make sure that we provide the adequate funding and budgets for such projects.
“The FCT budget is going to be forwarded to us soon and it’s important that we come and see the state of the work and their completion rate. We will make sure that any of the projects that requires priority is given the due attention so as to elevate and increase efficiency.”
The Senate Committee Chairman said that it is awaiting the Minister and his team to present the Senate with their budgets, where he is expected to catalogue priority projects are and that, based on what funding available and what revenue they have been able to generate, “we will try and see how we can approve the funding adequately.”
He however, scored the FCT Administration high on execution of high-quality projects in the capital city despite dwindling economic fortunes after inspecting the projects from Southern Parkway through the Ring Road 1 interchange at Kaura District, Wuye bridge and Federal Secretariat and National Assembly complexes.
Senator Odebiyi expressed satisfaction on the level of completion of most of the projects after visiting the project sites.
“Part of our responsibility is to provide oversight duties as part of other legislative duties and what we have seen today has been quite interesting.”
This was even as the Minister said that the current FCT Administration has been able to achieve many successes due to the smooth relationship between it and the National Assembly.
Musa Bello said that with the challenge of paucity of funds, the FCT Administration decided to prioritize key infrastructure projects based on their impact to residents.
“Because of paucity of funds, we decided to prioritize key infrastructure projects to get them completed and in deciding the ones that fits into that category, we look at the ones that will give maximum benefit to the maximum number of people.
“If you noticed, all the four projects we went to day are all road projects that are meant to link one section of the Abuja city to the other and that’s the whole idea. The Abuja Master Plan has been designed in such a way that the road networks are supposed to complement each other and if you finish one portion and don’t do the other, then you don’t get the full utility of that particular road.”
The Minister stressed that it is the intention of the Administration to round off the tenure of President Buhari’s administration with the completion of a number of projects while developing some to the level where the next administration will be able to complete them within a very short period.
“Ultimately the objective is to make Abuja a vibrant city, a city where people will feel comfortable, where there are no traffic gridlock and where facilities will work. Working together with the national assembly, and I’m sure we will be able to achieve that.”
The Minister stressed the need to fast-track the provision of infrastructure to meet the pace of population surge in the FCT, a task which, he said, has been quite challenging.
“Running a mega city is a huge challenge and over the past five years, Abuja has had tremendous demographic change. Scientific reports have indicated that Abuja is one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
“But more importantly, as the city continues to mature, many of the infrastructure of previous years are also maturing and requiring constant maintenance and this is one area we are deploying resources to make sure that while we build new infrastructure, we make sure that existing infrastructure is catered for.
“In the past and even presently, projects are done diligently to the highest international standards. That is why you see many of the bridges even though they are about 30 years old, they still remain solid and we want to extend their lifespan by making sure that we lay emphasis on maintenance. So, while we continue to develop and construct, we are also going to maintain.”
Special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina has made it clear that he has never been a card-carrying member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and may never be.
In an article titled ‘OSUN: BUHARI DOES IT AGAIN,’ the Presidential spokesman said that he would rather go into farming and continue with his media work at the end of Buhari’s second and last tenure in 2023.
“Yes, APC is my preferred party, but I’m not a member, and won’t likely be, with my eyes set on farming and media work after leaving government service.”
Adesina, who reacted specifically to insinuations in some quarters, linking him to the recently concluded Osun State governorship election, said that though he would have preferred Oyetola as his preferred candidate to win the election, but that he is not a stakeholder in the Osun election as people painted it to be.
“I’m also a Buharist, a firm believer in the ideals of that honest man, the Mai Gaskiya from Daura, in Katsina State, though I am not a registered member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“It was, therefore, laughable for some people to try and rope me into Osun State politics, as the gubernatorial election held last Saturday. First, they came up with the news that Femi Adesina had lost his ward to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Which Femi Adesina? Me? Or another one? Do you lose what you don’t participate in?
“Out of curiosity, I checked. The APC had, indeed, won my ward, in the Post Office area of Ipetumodu by 176 to PDP’s 130 votes. But it didn’t matter. It just shows how heinous and petty some people can be.
“My position is this. I work for an APC government, and it is my preferred party. But member? Not so. I have always rooted for good APC candidates and I would have loved if Governor Gboyega Oyetola had won in Osun last weekend.”
Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, hosting the Secretary of State of Ohio, United States of America, and Leader of Delegation, Frank LaRose, when members of the IRI/NDI Observation Mission to Nigeria, in Abuja today, July 21.
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The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu has confirmed the pressure which President Muhammadu Buhari went through and ignored to ensure the evolution of true democracy in Nigeria.
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has said that he picked the governor of Delta State as running mate for the 2023 election because he can deliver.
Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has made the last assessment of the projects executed in the last seven years of the Muhammadu Buhari government by the minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello.
Opposition Politics, Religion And Double Standards, By Ussiju Mendaner
It is much easier to express the singular force behind the attempt to discredit the APC’s decision and stoke up sentiments against the party. The same elements of the society, CAN, the PDP paid influencers, and others who have been quite busy making dangerous religious and regional issues out of a mere politically calculated strategy of a party, were all relatively at ease with the same religious leadership combination in Osun state. The issue was not raised for once, nor discussed at any fora, not even from the Muslim society; because, it was all grandly accepted that what the state needed is a leadership that would perform and deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of Osun State. The Muslims and the Christians alike, all lined up behind an all-Christian ticket. We should take it from here; it is time the national argument ended and we begin to concentrate on the factors that are important and beneficial to our collective growth and development as a nation.
Much ado about nothing? Was the Osun case not similar to that of APC that has become a lingering uproar generated by the APC Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket combination? In our characteristic intolerance along thin lines of religious and regional dichotomy, and to fan the embers of political control to amaze electoral support, we have intentionally, and for the purpose of achieving selfish and political goals, equated a politically calculated strategic ticket to a declaration of religious war.
Abandoning the more damming emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of PDP as against the overwhelming conclusion of the entire Southern Nigeria to produce the next president of the country. The region has come to accept the deception and disappointment and is getting set to even defend the attack on its capacity to produce a president by the party they dole on, but hypocritically, would create an unending narration of an APC Muslim-Muslim ticket as an attack on the sanctity of their faith, relevance and a united Nigeria. They saw nothing wrong in PDP having a Northern presidential candidate despite their perennial cries for equity, because it is PDP, but would cry wolf about APC’s strategic Muslim-Muslim combination to win election.
Though, it is not surprising that the mere political calculation of a party and a presidential candidate whose sole consideration for the choice made is to appeal to targeted voters demography and win elections; but has been weaponised into a dangerous rhetoric of war of faith that is been propagated at the speed of light across the length and breadth of the country and even beyond. For decades, religion has become a central political instrument that politicians keep using to their selfish advantage to partition the citizens into opposing ends and create their much needed electoral support base. We have gone backward more than we develop forward because we value the support we accrued on the back of division more than the unity of purpose on the back of mutually benefiting values for the people and the country. From 1960, and till now, we have won elections on the back of putting the people against one another, not because of their support for positive manifestos or precedential performance of the contestants, but on the strength of in-fighting to preserve our religious faith, tribal relevancies and regional recognitions.
Today, and as we draw closer to 2023, the most worrisome development for us as a nation would remain the fact that in our over fixation on religious and regional considerations as determinants of leadership virtues, we have totally lost focus of what are at stake for us as a people and a nation; at a time when we should be busy objectively scrutinising the antecedents and capacities of candidates vying for political offices, we are busy playing religious and regional games and setting up the country for a further derailment along the duo.
Where is the noise about the Muslim-Muslim ticket coming from? Who is masterminding it? A church that has failed the country in providing a standard for morality, but rather becomes utterly commercialised to the point that it has become more of appendages of some political party and a celebrated site of corruption; or the tribal egoistic elements who are bent on using all possible weapons to drive home tribal agendas. It was in this same country that Chief Obafemi Awolowo ran with Chief Umeadi; not only both Christians but also both Southerners. It was here in Nigeria that Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, a Christian picked Prof. Ishaya Audu, also a Christian as his running mate. Aguiyi Ironsi and Babafemi Ogundipe ruled this country on an all-Christian ticket, and yet all was well with the country. Let us not also forget that the Buhari-Idiagbon Military rule was an all-Muslim rule and there was no disapproval from any quarters then.
This level of hypocrisy and bigotry would not help us as a nation; they only separates us more and deepen our disunity. We do not need elements within us who have become committed to serving their personal interest at the expense of delicate cords holding the country. The same people who midwife the
same-religion-tickets across their state, and saw nothing wrong with it, would suddenly become the arrow head of attacks against the APC’s same-religion-ticket without any shame. The likes of Aisha Yusefu who vigorously campaign for a Christian-Christian ticket of Obaseki and Philip Shuaibu in Edo state that boasts of a little above forty percent of its population, would today, blast the social media with the wild allegation of the attempts by APC to Islamised the country via a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
Wouldn’t we ask the question: if PDP or any other party had picked a Northern Christian as its presidential flag bearer, and needs to pick a running mate from the South-East, would they have picked a Muslim from Enugu or any of the South-East states to evade a same religion ticket; or rather, go the way that would guarantee them the votes of the region? No reasonable party or presidential candidate who wants to win at the poll will give out his vice-presidential aspirant ticket on the basis of religion to a candidate who would exert no influence over the votes of his or her region. It is a known fact in Nigeria that the block northern voters would rather vote for a Muslim ticket, while the Southern people would prefer to vote for a Christian ticket. As unwholesome as the reality is, it remains that as at now, religious sentiments apart, Tinubu picking a Northern Christian running mate would have been the end of his aspiration even before the game started.
I watched the events as they unfolded; all the way from the emergence of Tinubu as the APC presidential flag bearer till the decision of his running mate. Firstly, I saw the handwriting of the opposition party on most events as they orchestrated the media to draw support for the disqualification of the man from the primary, using age and health to stoke away support for his candidature while at the same time were busy expending their resources to support the emergence of any other candidate but Tinubu. It was the same game play when the time for him to pick his running mate came; PDP knows all too well that Tinubu is a hard bone for them to crack and his combination with a strong Muslim candidate from the core North would literarily skew the context more in his favour; and the jittery opposition party has been struggling, using all instruments of propaganda to limit the damage the choice of APC is making to their aspiration to return to Aso Rock.
Our challenge as a people and a country today is not a Muslim-Muslim ticket, but the increasing population of our citizens and groups who are bent on polarising our system along very dangerous lines. The increasing number of religious leaders who benefit more from unstable developments in the nation; who prefer to anchor their supports as appendages of a particular political party and would go all the way to destabilise the system in favour of their preferred party and candidates. The very people who despite the recorded atrocities of PDP would never see or complain about the party have abandoned their calling to turn their pulpits and altars to political platforms to attack one party while drumming support for another.
This week, I would round up borrowing from the words of Nelson Mandela that “Our nation is not divided by tribe, region, gender, or religion. Our country is divided into wise people and fools. And fools divide themselves by tribe, colour, gender, or religion.”
God Bless The Federal Republic of Nigeria!