”The last notable Christian-Christian ticket was Awolowo-Umeadi in 1979 and the last notable Muslim-Muslim ticket was Abiola-Kingibe in 1993. You can figure out the rest. But let the optimists know that reality always trounces wishful hope in political contests. Chief Femi Fani-Kayode’s advice that we get real must be directed where it truly belongs – to the leadership of the APC’’- CHIEF KAYODE SAMUEL, FACEBOOK, 29th MARCH, 2014.
I thank my brother Kayode Samuel for his contribution and I shall take his advice and direct my counsel to the leadership of the APC and to the Nigerian people in general. That is the purpose of this essay and so important is the subject matter under consideration that I would urge as many as possible to find the time to read it from the beginning to the end.
Chief Akin Osuntokun, the Bashorun of Oke-Mesi, the former Special Advisor to President Olusegun Obasanjo and the highly celebrated columnist for Thisday Newspaper is one of my closest brothers and friends even though we tend to disagree on virtually everything. He is a very complex and interesting person who has a penchant for speaking the bitter truth. He is blunt to a fault and brutally frank and he manages to give as good as he gets in any argument.
I respect him immensely for a number of reasons, one of them being his unquestionable loyalty to his friends regardless of their circumstances, political views and party affiliation. Simply put, he is capable of mainitaining a good relationship even with those that he disagrees with politically. I say this because most of Akin’s friends like Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Alhaji Kashim Imam, Mallam Uba Sani, yours truly and a host of others have left the PDP yet we still meet virtually every other night as a group and slug out politics and current issues.
Even though Akin is invariably the lone voice in a hostile sea at such meetings, he always holds his own and stands his ground in a most admirable and spirited manner even when things get rather heated up. His loyalty to and support for President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration is second to none and I have often wondered how difficult things would have been for us if Akin and his likes were the ones speaking for this government.
He is an intellectual par excellence and one of the most under-utilized assets that the PDP has in their armoury. Yet I often marvel about how well he stomachs the attacks and intellectual riposts that he suffers from those of us that are no longer in his political party but that have the rare privilege of still being in the inner circle of his friends.
That is what makes Akin special. That, together with the fact that more than any other person that I know, he can tell his friends the bitter truth about themselves and point out their mistakes. You can count on him for that. And the strangest and most uncanny thing is that nine times out of ten he has been proved right.
Today I shall take a cue from my brother Akin and tell a few bitter home truths to my own friends and political associates in the APC. Whether this will break or enhance our friendship and association remains to be seen. I hope that it does not have any negative consequences for our relationship but if it does I have absolutely no regrets. After all the greatest gift and virtue that a true friend and brother can offer is truth and wise counsel. That is what real friends are supposed to do even when that truth and counsel is unpleasant and painful to hear.
The subject of my counsel is the suggestion by some that our party the APC should consider fielding a muslim/muslim ticket in the 2015 Presidential election. Even though the party leadership itself has not expressed such an intention and even though the matter still remains in the realms of speculation, as someone recently pointed out, I can confirm to you that quite a number of people within the party are discussing it privately and are actually considering it.
As a matter of fact some are openly advocating and canvassing the idea. Whether we like to admit it or not this is the subject of heated discussions in many party circles today with some party leaders being for it whilst others are against it.
Consequently the party would do well to issue a statement on the matter and tell us whether they are in a position to rule out such a course of action or not. If they refuse to do so the speculations will simply continue and, like an insidious cancer, the matter will eat away at the very soul of the party and eventually squander it’s fortunes.
It is in order to avoid this and for that very reason that I deem it fit, wise and appropriate to make my views on the matter known to the world, regardless of what the consequences of doing so may be for me. The outcome of this exercise and the reaction to my counsel will determine whether I am indeed in the right political party or not.
Let me start by stating loudly and clearly that I have nothing against muslims. As a matter of fact I am very proud of the fact that I have both muslims and christians in my family. So strong is the muslim influence in my extended family from my mother’s side that I, together with all my siblings have at least one muslim name. Mine is Abdul Latif, which I am told in Arabic means ”servant of the All Gentle”, and I am very proud of it.
This is a name which my friend and brother Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, in an attempt to crack a joke about me and my ”one eighth” Fulani bloodline, mischevously reduced to ”Boda Lati” in one of his celebrated articles and I am still trying to find it in my heart to forgive him for that.
I also have many friends from both the south west and the north who are muslims and who can testify to the fact that I have nothing against islam. I am talking about people like my dear brother Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, our current Minister of State for Defence, who I not only grew up with in Lagos but who I also cut my political teeth with in 1990 when we both joined the defunct NRC and people like Governor Tanko Al Makura of Nassarawa state who formed and led the youth wing of the defunct NNC with me in 1989.
The reason that I have gone to great lengths to point out my strong links and family ties with the islamic faith is simply to prove that I have nothing against muslims and that the great faith of islam is part and parcel of my proud and noble heritage.
Yet despite my deep respect for and affinity with islam and in spite of my fondness for all those that have espoused that ancient and noble Abrahamic and monotheic faith, I would be the first to say that it would be most improper and politically inexpedient for anyone to suggest the idea that any political party in Nigeria today should present a muslim/muslim ticket in next years Presidential election.
I have said it privately in countless political meetings and I will say it publiclly today. Please mark it- the biggest mistake that my party, the APC, can make is to field a muslim/muslim ticket in the 2015 Presidential election. If we do that we will not only offend the christian community but we will also loose the election woefully. This is not 1993 and whether we like it or not we must accept the fact that religion plays a major role in our politics today. This is not the ideal but it is the reality that we have to accept and live with.
Our party must have both a christian and a muslim on the ticket if we want to be taken seriously in the Presidential election. I implore those that think otherwise to sit down and think this through properly. We must not present a christian/christian ticket as this would be insensitive to the feelings of muslims and we must not present a muslim/muslim ticket as this would be insensitive to the feelings of christians. I for one would NEVER support a ticket that presents two members of the same faith no matter what the consequences would be.
This country belongs to both muslims and christians- we are all one and we must ensure that we do not hurt the feelings or the sensitivities of one another either advertantly or inadevertantly. As they say ”the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. Let us be mindful of our actions, deeds and words, no matter how well-intentioned they may be, and let us ensure that we do not confirm the terrible stereotyping that those that are against us are trying to label us with.
Unlike some who only joined the political fray a few years ago, I have been in politics in this country for a total of 24 long years and during that period of time I have learnt a thing or two. The first lesson that I have learnt and which must be appreciated is the ability to distinguish between an ideal and reality. It is laudable to pursue an ideal and we must do all that we possibly can to enthrone it but it is disasterous to ignore the realities on the ground no matter how unsavoury or distasteful that reality may be.
The ideal, which we all desire and which we all seek to enthrone, is to play the type of politics in our country which has no recourse to religion and where a man or woman’s faith is entirely their own affair. Yet the reality is that to ignore the religious sensitivities and differences of the Nigerian electorate is a manifestation of, at the very best, political naivety of the highest order and, at the very worst, dangerous, self-depreciating and self-destructive ignorance. Simply put, religion SHOULD NOT be a factor in our politics but in reality it IS a factor.
To those who say that the APC will produce a Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate that have ‘’integrity, capacity and competence’’ and that the religious faith of those two candidates does not matter, I have only the following to say. The ‘’integrity, capacity, competence’’ and all those other laudable qualities are virtues that can surely be found in adherents of both the Muslim and the Christian faith.
They are not the exclusive preserve of the adherents of one faith alone. You can find muslims that have these qualities and you can find Christians that have them as well. It therefore makes perfect sense to present one of such people from each of the two major faiths as a Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate respectively
This is especially so given the fact that Nigeria is a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country which suffers from severe religious tensions and periodic sectarian violence and which has at least 80 million Christians and muslims on both sides of the divide living side by side. We are already sitting on a keg of gunpowder and to ignore one side of the religious divide and treat them with contempt and disdain may be the trigger that causes that keg to explode.
Presenting a muslim/muslim ticket for the 2015 Presidential election ticket, no matter how cleverly rationalised, defended or justified in the pursuit of an ideal or in the name of ‘’political correctness’’, will be a terrible insult to the 80 million Christians that are part and parcel of this country and it would result in their voting, en masse, for another party. My candid advice to those that are thinking that way and that are moving in that direction is that they should perish the thought and that they should do so very quickly.
As far as I am aware the APC is not an affiliate of Al Qaeda and neither is it a Boko Haram party, a Janjaweed party or a Muslim Brotherhood Party. I have had cause to say so and to defend the intellectual integrity and what I consider to be the multi-religious and secular ethos and composition of the party on numerous occasions. And of course it is a pleasure, a duty and a privilege for me to do so simply because that is what I honestly believe and because I happen to be a secularist myself. Like millions of others from all over the world I believe that religion ought to have no place in the running of the affairs of any country.
However that does not mean that we ought to ignore the very delicate religious balance that we have in Nigeria or that we should play havoc with it. To do so would be disasterous for the fortunes of the party and for the future of our nation. As a matter of fact we would be opening the gates of hell and we would be courting catastrophy. Anyone that doubts that should consider the ugly events that are unfolding in the Central African Republic today or that took place in the Sudan before the country broke into two. We must never allow such things to happen in Nigeria by any act of commission or omission.
As far as I am aware the APC is a party for both muslims and christians. It is a vehicle for change and not one that seeks to give the impression that Christians don’t matter or that they are second class citizens. If I am wrong then those that claim to know better or that believe that they own the party should please tell me. If it is a party where faith and religion has no place, as some would have us believe, then they should please let us know. We have an image problem which we need to deal with.
Permit me to share just one example of the factors that have sustained that image problem. We have a leading member of the party from Borno state that has been consistently accused of being the sole founder and originator of Boko Haram.
In fairness to the individual concerned the allegations about his personal involvement in these ugly events remain unproven yet all the same they remain serious and grave and they cannot be ignored for much longer. He must provide direct answers to these serious allegations so that, if they are all false, we can make it our business and duty to defend him. Until then, being in a political party that harbours and attracts the sympathy and support of such a person puts some of us in a very awkward position.
If such things do not make some people uncomfortable they certainly make me very uncomfortable. This is especially so given the atrocities that Boko Haram has perpetuated against both christians and muslims in our country in the last three years. Whether we like it or not we must go out of our way to try to let the world know that we are not a party of muslim fundamentalists and closet islamists and if we choose not to bother to do so it simply means that we are arrogant and that we have lost touch with reality.
Part 2
All the clever rationalisations and justifications in the world for presenting a muslim/muslim ticket will not enable us to escape this ugly tag. As a matter of fact they will simply confirm it. We have a lot of work to do in this respect and permit me to share just one of the things that we ought to do very quickly if we wish to avoid the consequences of our own folly. We must go out of our way to redress the religious imbalance in our Interim National Executive where you have virtually ALL the KEY positions in the hands of muslims and where it is only the lesser positions that the Christians enjoy.
The charge that there are far many more muslims than christians on the Interim National Executive Commitee is false because the number of Christians and Muslims in that distinguished body are more or less equal. The numbers are not the problem but rather the fact that virtually all the substantive positions on that 35-man Executive Commitee are in the hands of Muslims. The Christians that are there are either ‘’deputy’’ or ‘’vice’’ to one of their muslim colleagues or the other. Does anyone have an idea what signal this sends? Do they care about the consequences of such a signal? Was this done by design or was it just an innocent mistake? These questions must be asked and they must be answered.
We have been saying all this quietly for a few months now but nothing has happened. No-one seems to be listening and no-one seems to care. Worst still instead of reaching out and allaying our fears we are now being fed with subtle yet insulting and unacceptable rationalisations and justifications for what is essentially politically explosive and electorally suicidal nonsense. If there is no Christian in Nigeria that qualifies to be President or Vice President and that does not have the noble qualities of ‘’integrity, capacity and competence’’ that were listed earlier then they should tell us and we will know what to do. The whole thing is beginning to move in a certain direction and it stinks.
An illicit and subterranean agenda seems to be unfolding and instead of assuring us that such a thing can never happen or even be contemplated in today’s Nigeria they are telling us to live with it and that, all of a sudden, religion does not matter anymore. If it does not matter anymore then why not present a Christian/Christian ticket? If it does not matter anymore then why give the impression that you are interested in the Christian vote? If it does not matter anymore then why the resistance in some quarters for a Christian Presidential candidate for the party?
Meanwhile it matters enough to those who want a muslim/muslim ticket to be secretly advocating it and to be openly suggesting it. This is nothing more than an islamic agenda in the making and to those who have such an agenda and who wish to use the APC to effect it I say ‘’that which you want to do, do it quickly and see the result of the work of your hands’’. Make no mistake about it: I speak the minds of millions of self-respecting and discerning Christians in this country when I say these things and I have consulted very widely before saying them.
I say them because I am a committed and loyal party member who wants the party to fare well in the 2015 elections and who wants them to win. I will not sit back and remain silent when I see such a precious vehicle heading for the rocks and when I see it courting self-destruction. Only the the irresponsible, the sycophantic and the opportunistic would do that together with those who have a hidden agenda and who do not give a damn about the consequences of this reckless course of action on the fortunes and image of the party.
If those that disagree with me wish to expel me from the party for saying so please go ahead. It will only prove my point. I have a soft spot for the APC and I have tremendous respect and affection for my friends and brothers who established it and who represent the more liberal and enlightened wing of the party.
I am talking about people like our leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, our National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, Governor Kayode Fayemi, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso, Governor Murtala Nyarko, Governor Tanko Al Makura, Governor Adams Oshiomole, Governor Rochas Okorocha, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, Senator Joseph Waku, Senator George Akume, Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya, Senator Borriface, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Senator Lawal Shuaibu , Chief Sam Nda Isaiah, Chief Tom Ikimi, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Chief John Oyegun, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamilla, Hon. Yusuf Tuggar, Prince Tony Momoh, Hon. Rotimi Makinde, Senator Femi Ojudu, Senator Jide Omoware, Senator Buki Saraki, Senator Danjuma Goje, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, Alhaji Bello Masari, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, Rt.Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora and so many others, all of whom I have been very close to for many years and all of whom are far more to me than just being mere friends or political associates.
These people, together with a number of others, are the heart and soul of the party and they are it’s saving grace. I say this because, unlike a handful of others, they are essentially moderates and liberals and they represent the forces of light within it’s ranks. Yet the truth must be told. And true friends and brothers always speak the truth to one another no matter how bitter that truth is.
If speaking that truth will cost me then so be it. At least I will sleep very well at night with a clear conscience knowing that I have done my very best to steer the party in the right direction and stop it from destroying itself. One thing that I will never do, no matter what, is to allow anyone or any group of people to denigrate or insult my faith or the adherents of my faith and relegate us to the position of second class citizens. This matter must be taken very seriously indeed because the consequences of not doing so will be swift, far-reaching, irretrievable and very grave for the APC.
This is 2014 and not 1993 and today things are very different. Christians cannot and must not be taken for granted and no-one should attempt to sacrifice them on the alter of political expediency. Any party that seeks to do that ceases to be a political party and can be better described as a religious cult. And no Christian worth his salt can or will ever be the member of such a cult. The choice is for the leaders of the APC to make. If you are a cult then continue on the path of self-destruction but if you are a political party then learn to be fair to Christians and to appreciate their sensitivities.
The suggestion of a muslim/muslim ticket by some and the subtle rationalization of such a repugnant and self-destructive agenda by others is, to say the least, nauseating. It is simply unacceptable and, in Jesus name, we reject it. Like I said earlier, those that are thinking along those lines should perish the thought and stop causing consternation, dissention and confusion. Yet if they choose to continue to do so they should prepare for the consequences.
The desire for a Vice Presidential candidate to emerge from the south-western part of the country is very strong and, if the APC really wants to win, it is the smartest thing to do. Being an unapologetic yoruba nationalist, not only am I at the forefront of that struggle but I also believe in it passionately. I believe that that is the right and proper thing to do and that that is our due. I also believe that if the person that the leadership of the yoruba APC eventually decide to field as a Vice Presidential candidate is a muslim then the north must field a christian candidate for the Presidency.
Conversly if the person that the leadership of the yoruba APC eventually decide to field as a Vice Presidential candidate is a christian then the north must field a muslim candidate for the Presidency. It really is as simple as that. That is the way out and that is the winning combination and formula. The way to failure, disaster and ruin is to ignore this counsel and to field a northern muslim as the Presidential candidate of the party and a yoruba muslim as his running mate. A word is enough for the wise.
Yet all hope is not lost. I say this because there are many leading northern muslims who are highly respected elders and leaders within the ranks of the opposition who have been quietly advocating for a northern Christian that can be trusted by them and that is competent and reliable to be the candidate of the APC. They see this as the only way to ensure that the ugly tag of being a sectarian party is finally removed. They also see it as the only way that Jonathan can be defeated simply because a combination of the northern Christian and muslim vote, coupled with a strong and credible muslim running mate from the south-west that will garner the support of all the yoruba regardless of their faith, cannot be defeated.
Since we are on this topic I am constrained to make reference to a rather strange and curious event which took place just last week and which has some relevance to this discourse. The Sultan of Sokoto, who is the leader of the muslim community in Nigeria, led a delegation to President Goodluck Jonathan to complain about what he described as the ”under-representation of muslims” at the Constitutional Conference.
The President, in an uncharacteristically frank and candid manner, hit back immediately by asking the Sultan why it was that the muslim governors of the north-west do not sponsor members of their christian community to pilgrimage in Jerusalem in the same way that they sponsor the members of their muslim community to Mecca. He urged the Sultan to tell the governors of the north-west to sit up and do the right thing by being fair to all. This was excellent counsel from our President and he has won many new converts and friends by asking the Sultan a pertinent question and telling him the simple truth.
Frankly I never knew that President Goodluck Jonathan had it in him and I am pleasantly surprised. If the christian population in the core north could be treated with such contempt and so unfairly by the core northern governors I really do wonder what their plight would be under a muslim/muslim President and Vice President. Perhaps those that tell us that ”religion does not matter” could enlighten us about this.
Permit me to end this rather long contribution with the words of a young, keen and insightful mind by the name of Miss Ayobami Animashaun. In my view, Ayo has put the case against a muslim/muslim ticket in a succinct, compelling and simply brilliant manner. In an interesting and somewhat heated facebook discussion on the 29th March 2014 she wrote as follows:
‘’The Presidential ticket in Nigeria is usually shared between the North/South and Muslim/Christian. To have a South/South or North/North or Christian/Christian or Muslim/Muslim for now will be a complete and total failure in the Nigeria we live in today. If it is true that a Muslim/Muslim ticket is currently being considered by APC then this is evidently the handy work of President Goodluck Jonathan’s ‘’prayer warriors’’! He shall have a very easy ride back to Aso Villa in 2015. I am an APC supporter but should the party field a muslim/muslim ticket I shall be jumping ship over to PDP for sure.
Someone within APC isn’t thinking right! 99% of Nigerians are extremely religious, and I am one of them. I make no apology for that. This country has over 85 million christians and for anyone in the APC to say they cannot find one out of 85 million to be on their ticket is extremely insulting to us. Take it or leave it, that is how I feel. I have indeed spoken the minds of many.
No self-respecting christian would support an all muslim ticket in Nigeria today. Neither would muslims accept a christian/christian ticket and neither should we expect them to do so. We already hear people openly refer to the APC as the Boko Haram and the Janjaweed Party. Presenting a muslim/muslim ticket would only confirm this. That is absolute logic!
Some say only a tiny percentage of our people care about religion or the faith of the candidates on the Presidential ticket? That is complete and utter bollocks! We will all be here to see the outcome of this folly! Meanwhile I will re-consider my support for the APC, because I cannot continue to be associated with people that are religiously insensitive!
This is a party whose key substantive officers in the National Executive Committe are ALL “muslims”! Meanwhile we are in 2014. Did I see someone compare 1993 to today? That was 21 years ago for goodness sake and so much has happened between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria since then. I am not religiously intolerant, I am simply being politically realistic in the climate we have in Nigeria today.
Trying to sound politically correct can only score you little brownie points on a small facebook thread. It is not common sense to come up with a Muslim/Muslim ticket in a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural state where over 50% of the population are Christians. To do so not only makes no sense but it is also politically suicidal.
Go to the Christians of the North Central, the North West and the North East and tell them that you are presenting a Muslim-Muslim ticket and see if they do not stone you! Go to the South-South and the South-East and tell them that you are presenting a Muslim-Muslim ticket and see if they do not spank you. Go to the South-West and tell the Yoruba Christians that you are presenting a Muslim-Muslim ticket and see if they do not insult you. If you like, go ahead and try it!
This will not be the first time that arrogance and the lust for power overides sound judgement and wise counsel. I am seeing something very ugly behind the mask of the APC now and it is called religious bigotry.
My advice to you is to rid yourselves of it otherwise no self-respecting Christian would support you. No matter what you say or do, no one can use the back door to islamise Nigeria’’.
Miss Ayo Animashaun has spoken courageously and she has voiced an inconvenient and bitter truth. I need say no more. I rest my case. God bless Nigeria.