Weeks before the announcement was made, it had been rumoured that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was considering a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
Expectedly, it generated a lot of reactions from those who were either in favour of or against it, as with nearly every other issue in Nigeria, and dominated public discourse.
When the party eventually announced former Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima as running mate to its presidential standard bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it didn’t come as a surprise to political pundits who had long projected that it was the only option left for the party to make a good showing at and go on to win the election, considering that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, is also a northern Muslim.
The choice of Shettima has been met with criticism even within the party and some aggrieved members are already dumping the party. I’m sure the party must have thought of the possibility of this kind of fallout and backlash before making its choice.
Politics in Nigeria, from time immemorial, has always been about ethnicity and religion and for a country with over 300 unique languages and two dominant religions, the retort is not unexpected.
However, what the APC has done, the way I see it is not entirely new, except that it is happening at the federal level.
Ethnic groups, religions and even denominations within the religious groups have always been excluded from the scheme of things at various levels in the country but these exclusions do not generate as much reactions and flak because they benefit the majority in those places where they occur.
How is it that there has never been a Christian governor in Gombe State, even though the Christian-Muslim population in the state can be argued to be 50:50.
Is it not a form of exclusion that a man from the Ufia, Nyifon or Iordaah tribe doesn’t even come to reckoning when the governorship is discussed in Benue? Even advocates of power shift from Tiv to Idoma never make a case for these minority ethnic groups.
It is exclusion that makes it impossible for an Anambra Muslim to be governor of the state, where even within the Christendom, you have to either be Catholic or Anglican to be good enough to hold the office.
It is exclusion that made it that there has never been a Christian governor in Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina Niger or Kwara State or a Muslim governor in Delta, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi or Enugu.
In Nasarawa, where the population across the religious divides can also be argued to be 50-50, there has never been a Christian governor.
Kaduna, Bauchi and Adamawa are northern states with significant Christian populations but they have been perpetually excluded from occupying the coveted seat of governor.
In Cross River State, no matter how good a Yala man is, he is one of the minorities that has never been considered good enough to govern the state. The situation is not any different in Kogi State where it took death for the Igala stranglehold on the governorship to be broken. Even at that, the state has never had a Christian governor.
In all of this, who remembers the traditional worshippers and agnostics? Should they also not be given a chance? Why are they not carried along in the selection process?
Yes, I know some people may say the argument is about balancing but in some of the instances cited above, there have been same faith tickets but no one ever complained because it served their purpose. Is it to say that there are no adherents of the other faiths in those places and at those times when such decisions are made? Does it not also amount to exclusion and equally vexatious and insensitive that they are not considered?
Another thing to ponder is; how have we fared as a nation with leaders from the two major religions? While it may be trite to say that the divisions and mutual suspicion in the country do not make the choice of the APC expedient at this time, at the end of the day, would it really matter which faith a leader professed if they’re able to meet the yearnings of the people and place the country of the path of development and economic prosperity?
Is it not surprising that our leaders are united in corruption regardless of their religious leanings? When it comes to underdevelopment of the country, traditional worshipper, Christian or Muslim does not matter, they are comrades.
For politicians and political parties, selfish as it may be, every calculation is about winning the election. It is about the man who is widely accepted across divides, the man who will bring votes to win the election and for the APC, having chosen a presidential candidate from the south, the most expedient thing to do to have the buy-in of the largely Muslim north was to choose one of their own.
This is a decision which the way I see it, should excite the opposition which claim that the APC has scored an own goal. It beggars belief, however, that rather than celebrate, they are responsible for the ruckus this issue has generated.
When the PDP chose Atiku as its presidential candidate after eight years of a northern presidency, it didn’t matter to those complaining now because it wasn’t religion but that was equally insensitive to other regions. Someone argued in defense of the PDP the last time the party had a president, he was from the south so it was only fitting for the next to be from the north. That’s argument for another day but that is the kind of logic they bring to the discourse.
A lot of people may have forgotten because it has been 11 long years but in 2011, Nuhu Ribadu of then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chose Afolabi Tajudeen Adeola, former group managing direct of GT Bank, a southern Muslim, as his presidential running mate but it didn’t generate as much ruckus. What has changed? Is it because of the people involved?
Elections are not won with emotions, rather strategy, preparedness to lead and the power of convincing the electorate and in Tinubu and Shettima, I see a duo prepared for the task of leadership. They have both been tested before and the facts speak for themselves or as supporters of one aspirant will say, go and verify.
Howbeit, as Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Hassan Kukah, in reaction to the Tinubu-Shettima ticket, puts it, “This is what you call team selection and everybody will choose depending on what they think will give them a fair chance. So people will take responsibility for the choices they have made. For me, it is not something to lose sleep over. If people feel unhappy with the kind of choices that have been made, that is why we are democrats, you can’t force it. We outsiders cannot force a choice of any candidate.
“It is now left for you to look at the choices that have been made. And there is no guarantee that all Christians will vote for Christians and all Muslims will vote for Muslims.”
End of discussion!
