By Abba Dukawa<\/p>\n
Hunger and untold hardship aren\u2019t respectful of ethnicity or
\nreligion. Just like rain, whenever there is a downpour, no one\u2019s roof
\nis always spared the reason why religion shouldn\u2019t be a yardstick
\nabout who governs the country.<\/p>\n
As the country gradually counts months to yet another election year
\nagain in 2023, the issue of religion has again taken the centre stage
\nwith the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and other notable
\nNigerians being at the epicentre of everything religious controversies.<\/p>\n
Weaponizing ethnic and religious chauvinism will be detrimentally
\ndebilitating to every Nigerian because these two sickening barometers
\nfor electing Nigerian leaders have taken the country backwards.<\/p>\n
There was no time in the anal of the country that we as a people have
\never been polarised like now, as we fret our safety because of our
\ncollective failure in electing incompetent leaders who are bereft of the
\nrequisite knowledge to detour the paths of the country from the sundry
\nquagmires of a bad economy, insecurity, inequality and the general
\nwellbeing of the citizens.<\/p>\n
Sadly enough, Nigerians\u2019 logical reasoning and sights seem impaired
\nwith these mistakes of voting along religious or tribal lines.<\/p>\n
Today, in northern Nigeria and the country in general, terrorism and
\nterrorists are having a field day, killing, maiming raping and
\nkidnapping for ransoms. Kidnapping and banditry today are a lucrative
\nbusiness in the Nigeria clime<\/p>\n
It is difficult today in current Nigeria to either compare or juxtapose
\nthe constitutional and primary responsibility of the government to
\nprotect the lives and properties of its citizens with the prevailing
\nrealities staring at us today at the behest and watchful eyes of the
\npresident and state governors.<\/p>\n
Nigeria has become a graveyard where thousands of people are killed on a
\ndaily basis, while hundreds of others have abandoned their homes, and
\nare displaced internally within their country.<\/p>\n
Vividly as a result of this wrong voting, the country\u2019s economy is in
\nbad shape as the country arrives at the present dreaded moment as the
\ncost of servicing debt surpassed the federal government\u2019s retained
\nrevenue by N310 billion in the first four months of 2022. The federal
\ngovernment\u2019s total revenue for the period was N1.63 trillion, while
\ndebt service gulped to N1.94 trillion.<\/p>\n
As the country matches toward the 2023 General Elections there is a need
\nfor Nigerians to learn how to put the interests of the country first
\nbefore any parochial, tribal, ethnic or religious interests because the
\ncountry is for all of us. Since the ruling governing party is banking on
\nMuslim Muslim tickets there is no end in sight to the public spat on the
\ntickets despite this spat got nothing to do with either interest of
\nMuslims or Christians but just the political interests.<\/p>\n
Why should religion be the yardstick to determine who governs Nigeria?
\nWhy should the religions of presidential and vice-presidential
\ncandidates matter? And What has religion in this case Christianity and
\nIslam got to do with the ability and capability of a person to
\neffectively govern a country such as Nigeria?<\/p>\n
I mean, Nigeria is not only the only country comprising Christians and
\nMuslims. Millions of Nigerians do not have that identity as Christians
\nor as Muslims. There are Nigerians who are atheists\/humanists,
\ntraditional and religionists, Like their Christian and Muslim
\ncounterparts, they are also entitled to participate in politics and
\ngovernance. They are entitled to vote and be voted for. Discussions over
\nMuslim-Muslim, Muslim-Christian, Christian-Christian, and
\nChristian-Muslim tickets have made religions, especially Christianity
\nand Islam, the main parameters for the choice of president and vice
\npresident.<\/p>\n
For this reason, the Christian Association of Nigeria and its
\nfootsoldiers should know that their stance can not (neither noise making
\nnor intimidation can) force the electorates to circumvent their wishes
\njust for their political survival. Why did Babachir and others fume on
\nMuslim Muslim tickets, and why did they feel aggrieved by the action
\nusing the available platform seemingly instigating some people to stand
\nagainst the choice.<\/p>\n
For former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, and other
\nlike minds and individuals across the country, should remember Nigerians
\nare wise enough and will not allow any religious sentiment to add more
\nsuffering to us, while they swing in dollar and Naira at their comfort
\nzone.<\/p>\n
In spite, these people can not claim to be saints to speak on behalf of
\nother Christians. They are doing it for their interest and not for poor
\nChristians and Christianity. For anybody to fight on behalf of his
\nreligion he must be morally upright because religion is about righting
\nthe wrong.<\/p>\n
Religious organizations or related groups should not allow political
\noffice seekers to misuse religion as a tool to get to power and just get
\npersonal gain from those who are in authority. We should understand that
\nNigeria\u2019s constitution provides anyone freedom of religion which
\nshould be strictly applied and protected.<\/p>\n
Dukawa write in from Kano can be reached via abbadukawa@gmailcom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Abba Dukawa Hunger and untold hardship aren\u2019t respectful of ethnicity or religion. Just like rain, whenever there is a downpour, no one\u2019s roof is always spared the reason why…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":78985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n