The anxiety and search are over. Finally, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, have turned a deaf ear to the demand of Christians, that Tinubu picks a running mate of the Christian religion.
On Sunday, July10, Tinubu announced in Katsina that he has picked the Senator representing Borno Central, Kashim Shettima, as his running mate. He revealed this to Journalists while on a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari who is spending Sallah holidays in his Daura home.
A number of high profile Northern Christians, including Tinubu’s very close ally, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, advised him to pick a Christian running mate, especially, for the stability of the country. The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, CAN, equally made same demand.
A few days ago, a group of Christians had recommended the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, as his running mate. Another group had recommended Rev. Yakubu Pam, Chairman Nigeria’s Pilgrims Commission as his running mate.
However, many people had also asked Tinubu to ignore religious considerations and pick a competent hand even the person is, like himself, a Muslim. One of those was Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai whose Deputy is a Muslim.
But all that came to an end on Sunday.
In preparation to making Shettima’s name public, Tinubu’s stand-in runnig mate, Bashir Masari, in a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, informed it of his withdrawal from the position.
Shettima’s choice has, also, robbed APC serving Governors of their plans to install one of them as Tinubu’s running mate. It was because of their tenacity, especially, those from the North, that power should rotate to the South, which forced President Buhari and pushed him into, fully, supporting a Tinubu candidacy.
Senator Shettima, a Kanuri, an Agricultural Economist, a former banker, was a two-time Governor of Borno of Borno State.
He attended the Universities of Maiduguri and Ibadan for his first and second degrees.
In the days running to the APC Presidential Primary, he infamously dismissed Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo, a Presidential aspirant then, as a nice guy who should be selling ice cream. He later issued a written apology to Osinbajo.
The last time Nigeria had a Muslim/Muslim ticket was in the aborted June 12, 1993 Presidential election where the Social Democratic Party, SDP, candidate,
Chief MKO Abiola, a Muslim, chose Babagana Kingibe, another Muslim, as running mate. The ticket, presumably, won the election which was, inexplicably, canceled by the Military regime, under General Ibrahim Babangida.
At the time, though, Nigeria has not become as divisive as it is now in things concerning religion.
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