By Adesina Soyooye
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has warned all Political Parties against fielding a same religion ticket for the 2023 Presidential election.
The warning comes at the time Nigerians are celebrating Democracy Day in honour of Chief Moshood Abiola, popular as MKO Abiola.
In 1993, Abiola, Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, had won the race on a same religion ticket.
A Muslim, Abiola chose Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, another Muslim, as his running mate. The duo won the election which was held on June 12, 1993. But it was cancelled by the Military Government led by General Ibrahim Babangida. Abiola, clamped into detention, and charged to Court for alleged treason by General Sani Abacha, Head of State, for insisting on his mandate, sadly died in custody.
Since the Presidential Primaries of all the Political Parties ended, attention has shifted to who their running mates will be. For the big parties in particular, especially the All Progressives Congress, APC, which candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a Muslim from the South, the controversy on who to choose, has boiled over, almost.
While some people are encouraging him to pick a Muslim running mate as long as the person is competent and can help move Nigeria forward, others warn that it is not only a no-no, it is a recipe for crisis.
For the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, competence and capacity and capability should be the driving forces. Religion should be separated from governance. To him, therefore, there is nothing wrong with a Muslim-Muslim ticket as long as the person is competent.
But a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, disagrees. He said it is a recipe for crisis and failure.
CAN agrees with Lawal.
In a statement signed by its National Secretary, Barrister Joseph Bade Daramola, CAN warns that “2023 is not 1993.”
Following, the full statement by CAN in which it rejected a same religion ticket.
Christian Association of Nigeria Rejects Proposed Muslim/Muslim Presidential Ticket in 2023
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has once again warned the leading political parties to bury the thought of Christian/Christian or Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket in 2023. We want to unequivocally state that it is a threat to the fragile peace and unity of Nigeria.
We congratulate the Presidential Candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP):Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr. Peter Obi respectively, including other parties that are participating in the forthcoming Presidential election.
CAN urges that a balance of both religious practitioners be considered in the choice of running mates of the presidential candidates. We do not subscribe to Christian/Christian ticket or Muslim/Muslim ticket. Politicians can talk politics but we have stated our view long before now.
Any party that tries same religion ticket will fail. This is not 1993. Even when we have joint Muslim/Christian ticket, the church still goes through hell.
Only God knows the number of Christians that have been killed in the last seven years with no one apprehended or prosecuted.
Imagine how bad it will be if we have two Muslims in power?
The extant Nigerian Constitution promotes religious balance. So, if any political party wants to try Muslim/Muslim ticket, it’s at it’s own peril. CAN is only forewarning, but will make a categorical statement in the event our warning is not heeded.
The Presidential runningmate for the APC presidential flag bearer, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu should be a Christian from the North, Atiku’s runningmate should be a Christian from the South while Obi should choose his own among the Muslims from the North. Anything contrary to the above means that the leadership of these political parties do not bother about the unity of this entity called Nigeria.
Those who are planning Muslim/Muslim ticket should also find out what was the outcome of MKO Abiola and Kingibe ticket in 1993. If they try Muslim/Muslim ticket this time around, the outcome will be worse because our fault lines are very visible.
There is no party that has no great, good and patriotic Christians who can preside over the affairs of this nation not to talk of being the Vice President as some mischievous people are trying to say. If merit and competence are used as yardsticks, we have many qualified Christians in all the 774 Local Government Areas of this country.
In the ongoing dispensation, CAN leadership cried in vain to ask President Muhammadu Buhari to break the monopoly or dominance of the security architecture with people of same faith. We are all seeing the outcome now. It is obvious that the Nigeria of today is different from that of 1993.
Our politicians should stop flouting the Constitution by respecting the North and South dichotomy and religious factor.
To those arguing that people do not care about the religions of their leaders once they are competent and credible, we dare APC to pick its Presidential runningmate from the South and PDP pick its own from the North and see what follows.
When the late sage, Papa Obafemi Awolowo picked Chief Mrs Oyibo Odinamadu, a fellow Christian and Southerner, as his runningmate in 1979, we all know the consequences of his performance in the North. Our politicians should be doing what will unite us instead of what will further polarise the country.
Signed
Barrister Joseph Bade Daramola,
CAN’s National Secretary.
Friday, 10 June, 2022
