Weeks after the ruling All Progressives Congress announced its Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for the 2023 elections, criticisms continue to trail. Prominent Nigerians, religious groups including some Muslim groups and clergies continue to speak against the Muslim-Muslim ticket, saying there have been hogs of suspicion of Islamization that doesn’t allow the trend to sail.
Ordinarily, religious faith shouldn’t matter in political decision, but the proponents of Islamophobia are also making valid claims, given the tragic incidences of attack and the unmitigated casualties against Christians in the predominant Muslim north. Equally, those in the APC house pushing the Muslim-Muslim ticket down the throat of Nigerians as a result of their own interest or belief system that, religion doesn’t matter, but capacity, may be right in their own right, but would it fly as it is?
Tinubu/Shettima may be innocent of the “islamisation allegation” that is giving credence to ferocious criticism of Muslim-Muslim ticket. One could not see Tinubu presidency playing that card or Shettima who all through his administration as governor of Borno State stood against Boko Haram Islamic ideology until he left. But the proverbial saying, “once beaten, twice shy”, suffices in the circumstance that Christians found themselves in Nigeria, having being victims of non-state actors for a very long time.
Those who sold the idea of Muslim-Muslim ticket were also not following the timeline of attacks on Christians which has gone to the extent that Christians dominated communities are being dislodged and their communities taken over permanently especially in Southern Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Southern Kaduna, Plateau and Benue State. These are undisputable facts and to feign ignorance is to be unfair with facts of history.
It appears those behind the Muslim-Muslim plot have become conscience stricken and are relapse into quietness having being confronted with the stark reality that in APC’s political chemistry, ‘Christians matter.’ Whether the APC would win or not, at least, the presidential aspirant would have been spared of the energy being dissipated in placating the Christians and trying to convince or explain issues surrounding the Muslim-Muslim ticket that has become a full blown thorn in the wheel.
Never in the political history in Nigeria has the same faith ticket threatened the fate of a political party like the Tinubu/Shettima ticket. It doesn’t matter, how this wholesale error is defended, things are not adding up as there are. One of the circumstantial evidences to the very disturbing scenario was the appointment of Plateau State governor, Barrister Simon Lalong as Director General of Asiwaju Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign council. His appointment is to douse the tension and not necessarily as a result of competence. This would have been otherwise, if the presidential candidate was allowed the latitude to decide.
The same faith ticket had been met with resistance by members of the APC itself. It’s been seen as insensitive and perceived as a slur on the northern Christians, who insisted, that it would be unacceptable, if it was Christian-Christian ticket. This detestable Muslim-Muslim ticket would not only breed ‘fair weather’ politicians within the fold of APC, but escalate anti-party activities. Those openly challenging the development are genuine members compared to those who may be APC in the day and another political party in the night.
The choice of Lalong as Campaign DG is puzzling for so many reasons. What was his performance index in the last seven years as governor of Plateau State? Plateau State has been under siege with locals being attacked, killed and communities inhabited by arsonists and renamed under his full watch. Insecurity in Plateau is same peculiarity with Benue and Kaduna, which are neigbours to each other, but with different approaches by their governors. Where two governors of the three States haven’t risen above partisan politics to take steps to tackle security challenges, especially putting the local vigilantes in place to complement the effort of security agents, Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was on top of the game.
Benue anti-grazing law and the establishment of forest guards are signs of a governor who is on the side of his people. The policies might have elicited swell of criticisms, but come to think of it, if he had sat supine, human catastrophe in Benue would have been more than the way it is.
Believe it or take it, the idea that Muslim-Muslim ticket is the political strategy to win the 2023 election is dull decision taken under duress. It’s a decision handed down to Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu by those who felt they own Nigeria; those who felt they were born to lead and not Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s original decision. The Muslim-Muslim ticket didn’t compare and contrast the 1993 politics with the 2023, the almost twenty years ago, where Nigerians supported late Kashimawo Moshood Abiola with Babagana Kingibe’s Muslim-Muslim ticket just to ease military from office. The situation in 2022/2023 is not the same. The level of political awareness is increasing; political participation is increasing and one could see from the massive interest in the just concluded Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC)’s Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
To a large extent too, electoral process has been improved overtime as the amended Electoral Act allows electronic means of votes cast as well as the use of BIVARs, as all these are meant to reduce rigging. These are what played out in Osun governorship election that the incumbent governor, Adegboyega Oyetola of APC was defeated by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
Atekojo Samson Usman, a journalist writes from Abuja and can be reached through ateko2007@gmail.com
