*Blames PDP for its failure to zone presidency to South
Ijaw leader and Convener, Pan Niger Delta Forum, Chief Edwin Clark, has described the decision of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu to take a fellow Muslim, Kashim Shettima, as his running mate, as part of “dangerous signals” that would further worsen the sharp division in the country, especially on religious lines.
According to him, the decision has fuelled rumours of an attempt to Islamise Nigeria, bearing in mind the antecedents of the major backers of Tinubu’s ambition, which include the Governor of Kaduna, Nasir El-Rufai; Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, “and the chosen one – Kashim Shettima”.
Clark, in a statement he sent to The PUNCH in Abuja, said it would be impossible for Muslims to exclude others from the affairs of Nigeria.
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“Today, what has the presidential candidate of the APC, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, done? He has picked a person of his religion, a Muslim, as his running mate. Such choice is not inclusive, it is not good for a secular state like Nigeria. There is presently a sharp division in the country, even on religious lines, and all patriots are seeking ways to salvage the situation.
“Therefore, Alhaji Tinubu’s decision to take a fellow Muslim as his running mate will further worsen the situation in the country. He should know that patriotism is a quality of a good leader. On the reasons adduced by Alhaji Tinubu on why he chose Kashim Shettima as running mate, is the APC Presidential flagbearer telling Nigerians that there are no Christians in the APC from the north who are ‘competent, capable and reliable?’
“About 46 per cent or more of Nigerians are Christians. Yet a group of persons want to sideline and exclude them from the affairs of the country. This is not possible. The question is, is Alhaji Bola Ahmad Tinubu under pressure from these his core supporters and backers, to pick a Muslim as his running mate, and did he cave in to the pressure because ‘it is his turn to be President of Nigeria’, despite complaints and protestations?
“The PDP is the cause of these things because of its refusal to zone its presidency to the South. These are dangerous signals. Alhaji Ahmed Tinubu cannot compare 2022/2023 with 1993.
“In 1993, majority of Nigerians, on their own volition, supported the Muslim/Muslim ticket of MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe of the Social Democratic Party, as President and Vice President, 29 years ago.
“It was not shoved on them; it was not forced on them. Also, during that period, Nigeria was not so divided on ethnic and religious divides,” the statement partly read.