By Tosin Olatokunbo
Controversial leader of the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC Professor Ishaq Akintola has said that the 2023 presidential ticket must be given to a Yoruba muslim. His comment came amidst suggestion that the group is supporting the presidential ambition of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former Lagos state Governor and All Progressives Congress, APC.
Akintola’s comment, therefore, many say, did not come as a surprise considering that the group had earlier in the year thrown its weight behind the yet-to-be declared presidential ambition of the former governor.
The MURIC leader said in January that “It is on record that the Yoruba have complained bitterly about marginalisation. This has resulted in the emergence of separatist groups calling for the establishment of Oduduwa Republic. However, the reality staring the Yoruba in the face today is the complex nature of the process of separation, vis-a-vis the proximity of a big opportunity of gaining political power in 2023 through an already well known democratic process.
“Fortunately, the Yoruba do not have to search too far as a former governor of Lagos State and leader of the ruling party has shown interest. Here is a candidate that brandishes impeccable pedigree. Nobody can deny his political dexterity. He is known to have fought and won several political battles. The best the Yoruba can do for the region is to rally behind this candidate and ensure that he clinches power in 2023.”
Akintola in a statement on Monday, said the presidential candidate for the 2023 must be a yoruba muslim, in a another veiled reference to Tinubu, according to watchers of recent politics in the country. In fact, the don dismissed plans by some politicians in the country, among them former President olusegun Obasanjo to draft Akinwumi Adesina, a Christian and president of the African Development Bank, AFDB, into the 2023 presidential race, as a waste of time.
The professor said no Yoruba Christina had ruled the country since the return to constitutional democracy in 1999, that one of them should be given opportunity to take a shot at the presidency.
According to MURIC: “Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo is reportedly making attempts to draft the current president of the African Development Bank (ADB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, into the 2023 presidential race. We object to this move. Obasanjo wants to waste all the efforts put in place by the Nigerian government to get Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina to that continental position.
“We remind the former president that as a Yoruba Christian, he has led Nigeria twice. He spent 3 years and 258 days as a military head of state (1976 – 1979) and another 8 years as a civilian president (1999 – 2007). Two other Yoruba Christians have also occupied Aso Rock. Chief Earnest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan was the interim head of state from 26th August 1993 to 17th November, 1993. The current vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, is also a Yoruba Christian.”
He said former President Obasanjo must abandon his plan to drag the AfDB president to the race.
Akintola said “Obasanjo’s attempt to drag Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina who is also a Yoruba Christian into the presidential race negates the principles of fairness, justice and equity. It is an attempt to rob Yoruba Muslims of the presidential slot and it violates a cardinal principle of democracy, namely, inclusiveness.
“It is an open secret that Yoruba Muslims who form the majority of the population in the South West are being denied their Allah-given fundamental human rights. This has led to complaints and court cases initiated by Muslims across Yorubaland over political and religious persecution. Yoruba Muslims are at the receiving end of deprivation of civil liberties. It is our contention that another Yoruba Christian presidency will usher in another opportunity for Christian hegemony and the marginalisation, stigmatisation, repression and persecution of Yoruba Muslims.
“Let Obasanjo tell us how many Yoruba Muslims were ministers in his administration. Even in Kwara State which is also a predominantly Muslim territory, Obasanjo picked two Christians as ministers (C. O. Adebayo and Funke Doyin). But he could not extend such ‘luxury’ to Yoruba Muslims in the South West.
“MURIC rejects this grand design to keep Muslims in Yorubaland in perpetual bondage. There are many Yoruba Muslims who are eminently qualified for the post of president. We also believe that the interest of the Yoruba people will be best served if they will channel their grievances towards ensuring that a Yoruba man emerges president instead of pursuing a separatist agenda that may lead them nowhere.
“We advise ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo to relax his grip on the Nigerian jugular vein. He should stop pushing Yoruba Muslims to the background. Christians are not the only human beings in Yorubaland. Fair sharing spreads goodwill. Monopoly generates rancour and ill-feeling. There is no true democracy where there is no inclusiveness. The political party does not matter to us. What is important is that the next Yoruba presidential ticket must go to a Yoruba Muslim in the name of fairness, justice and equity.”
