Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Mathew Kukah, has described the emergence of Bola Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Borno governor Kashim Shettima as his running mate, both Muslims, as reprehensible and irresponsible.
Bishop Kukah, who made this statement during a television interview, insisted that the party’s decision to field the same faith ticket would set the country backwards.
He said the “crime scene” where this “problem” started was in 1984 when then military head of state, Muhammadu Buhari took Tunde Idiagbon, also a Muslim as his deputy. He however said Nigerians overlooked it because many were excited.
“As a Christian, I feel very proud of the role that we have played in managing diversity and managing politics in Nigeria. In 1983, when Buhari assumed the office of head of state, he appointed Tunde Idiagbon as his deputy. Nigeria was very excited at the time but sadly, maybe, that is where we should have turned to as the scene of the crime. But it broke completely with tradition; the whole idea that two Muslims from the north would govern Nigeria. But Nigerians gave them that concession because it was a trade-off.
“Now, in 1993, Nigerians had gotten to a point that whatever was required to get the military out, we were going to do it. I think we over-exaggerated our interpretation of what happened in 1993 because we always have this dubious assumption that this is evidence that Nigerians don’t care about religion. Maybe that was what was illustrated.
“But moving forward, the question I would ask my friends who are Muslims is this; would Muslims in northern Nigeria be ready to make the same concessions that Christians made in 1984, and 1993 and are now being asked to make? You have to then understand it with the backdrop of what has happened in the last seven years. When you consider the squandered opportunities and the way power has been distributed, as well as how this government has allocated resources to the broad spectrum of Nigerians against the backdrop of the current crises. Ordinarily, the least we should be talking about now is whether our next president is going to be a Christian or a Muslim.
“As a Christian, I can tell you very frankly that the decision of the APC in choosing their candidates, I felt astonished. I can say without sounding arrogant that I know all the prominent presidential candidates that are out there. It is unfortunate that two illustrious people; Bola Tinubu and my friend Kashim Shettima would have to face this dilemma because it is not of their own making.
“But I think that the sheer insensitivity that brought us to this point speaks to the fact that those who manage our politics are not aware of the volatility that they have created in the system. I was secretary of the political reform conference and I remember the uproar about former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third term bid. If we went through all this, why would we then come through the back door to repeat the same mistakes?” he said.
