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The 1999 Nigerian Constitution makes a bold but subtle attempt to separate religion from affairs of state. Section 10, paraphrased here, specifically provides that the Government of the Federation or of a state should not privilege any religion whatsoever as a state religion. Some have since interpreted this provision to mean that Nigeria is a secular state, when hard facts are there to prove that Nigeria is not.
Well, I am not now about to explain the import of the word ‘secular’, because I know it is deeply contentious. However, to be on a safe side, I like to think of Nigeria of the now as an independent state that does not support the imposition of a religion on any citizen. Again, this is true to an extent, but it is not the point I intend to push here. The point I intend to push is far more immediate, serious and indeed topical than the politics of secularism in Nigeria.
Recently, the Jagaban himself, Bola Ahmed Tinubu picked a substantive Vice Presidential nominee for the All Progressive Congress (APC), after what may have been a wide and rigorous consultation across the north of Nigeria.
The nominee, a former Governor of Nigeria’s State of Borno and a serving Senator, Kassim Shettima, is a Muslim of the Kanuri stock. The decision to pick Shettima has generated buzz of discontentment. While some are of the view that this decision is no problem at all, especially when compared with the urgent matters of state – security, the economy, for instance – others hold the view that it pitches Tinubu in bad light and blights his chances of winning next year’s presidential election.
Tinubu’s decision is also a preparation for a showdown, as we countdown to next year’s election. If not, it is a rehash of the 1993 Abiola-Kingibe Muslim-Muslim joint ticket. At that time, the cut along religious lines was not as deep as it is today. At that time, Nigerians were more united in matters of governance than religious concerns. There was less emphasis on faith or belief. In fact, what one believes in or the God one serves was negligible. Paramount was the welfare and betterment of Nigeria and Nigerians.
But in Nigeria of the now, people’s faith or belief is yoked together with their social and economic pursuit. If it were not so, why is the ratio of Christian and Muslim population almost equal today, so much so that there is now a sense of competition (even rivalry) across different faiths? Why has the decision by Tinubu to pick Shettima as his running mate elicited buzz? Why didn’t major political parties at the 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019 presidential elections choose their candidates from one religious faith?
We must know. There is no need to shy away from the matter. Religion plays a key role in Nigerian politics of the now. Attachment to faith or belief is real in Nigeria. Candidates have lost elections, not because they are not qualified to lead, but because of the faith they belong to. Some do not even bother to put up themselves for elective positions in some states, because of the initial limitation necessitated by their faith. Of course, some have been endeared to the popular will of the people and have won elections simply because they belong to a particular faith.
Like it if you will, the Nigerian political space is fiercely scripted by chains of religious intrigues. What is to observe here is that Tinubu has demonstrated an open and honest affiliation to his faith. But the decision he has made of nominating a Muslim as his Vice President has equally marked him as having a poor sense of judgment towards the religious volatility of the people he desperately hopes to lead.
In a very large sense, being a Christian or a Muslim in Nigeria has a way of either creating a culture of inclusion or exclusion. Granted, the primary responsibility of any presidential hopeful is to govern well and ensure an affirmation of trust.
But anyone who wants to succeed as Nigeria’s next president must have an excellent sense of inclusion. Bola Tinubu has a good track of cultural inclusion when he was Lagos state Governor (1999-2007). He turned Lagos into a land of the free and daring. During his time, Lagos became a mother to all. No matter where you came from, you practically could suckle Lagos. Lagos was indeed succour to all who ran to her. Truly, he allowed all who resided and came to Lagos to have a sense of inclusivity.
But by picking a Muslim now as his running mate, the godfather of Lagos politics has splashed muddy waters on the nationalist statute he has erected for himself. Tinubu has created a false start to his presidential campaign.
In the Nigeria of the now, a Muslim-Muslim ticket matters. A Christian-Christian ticket, though unthinkable now, matters too. Religion is big deal today for most Nigerians. Call me primordial, if you will, but the facts are there for all. A Muslim-Muslim ticket will turn off, if not shut out a section of this country. There is sense in which religion limits human freedom. There is another sense in which it upholds it, especially in the way it allows human to acknowledge their God and worship him in their own way. Acknowledge a people’s religion and you would have acknowledged their culture and their worth.
By opting for a Muslim candidate, Tinubu has sent wrong signals. Firstly: he is one that has a potential for privileging one religion over another, should he become president of Nigeria. His Muslim-Muslim choice has projected him as one who has technically imposed one religion on Nigerians. Secondly: at this early stage in his quest to become Nigeria’s President, he has created an atmosphere of mistrust among Christians that will probably take a long time to correct. Thirdly: he has made a bold statement that in his quest to become Nigeria’s president, Muslims are more useful to him than Christians. Fourthly: his personal ambition is paramount and may not likely be a president that is sensitive to sensitive issues that concern Nigerians.
Tinubu may not necessarily lose the votes of some 50 million Nigerian Christians, as projected by some. By reason of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, he may not necessarily lose next year’s election by virtue of the massive support he hopes to get from Muslim voters. Should he win, however, one of his biggest challenges will likely come in the form of sustaining a balanced ambience of religious tolerance.
And, in any case, experience has shown that the possibility of succeeding as a leader is high, when there is an overwhelming support from the people.
Ochibejivwie, writes in from Warri, Delta State