Yakubu Dogara, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, have said the ruling APC Muslim-Muslim ticket for the February presidential election is bound to fail.
WHAT WE KNOW
A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Tuesday, said the adoption of a Muslim-Muslim ticket by the All Progressives Congress for the 2023 presidential election is a fruitless political effort doomed to end in failure.
Yakubu Dogara said this in Abuja while delivering his keynote address at a summit tagged, ‘Meet The Church’ organised by the Nigeria National Christian Coalition with the theme, ‘The role of the church in nation-building.’
Dogara berated the APC for placing state building above nation building, which he said have never worked anywhere.
The former Speaker also commended the Church for taking interest in politics rather staying aloof from it.
According to him, long before the adoption of the same faith ticket, the church had warned against the party through the Christian Association of Nigeria, Catholic Secretariat, ECWA and so many other Christian organisations.
NOTABLE QUOTES
Yakubu Dogara stated in Abuja at the Church event,
“In their convoluted posturing, they have placed state-building ahead of nation-building; a task never before achieved in history and we need no seer to tell us that such an endeavour is guaranteed to end in failure. No divided people have ever built any civilisation.
“I am so elated that today’s church in Nigeria has shaken off the beast of the complacency of the past into fire by speaking up and resisting measures adopted by some political platforms that will hamper nation building.
“In a manner that negated the fundamentals of nation building, such as shared identity, values and visions, the APC adopted the same-faith ticket in a country that has never attained nationhood.”
“These warnings were not only ignored but dismissed in one fell swoop by the APC presidential candidate who strangely believes that he can build a strong, secure and viable nation-state without first forging a shared identity, vision and values for our people; thereby enabling us transit from citizens of a country into a nation of people with strong shared identity and values.
“To demonstrate that the church is right, it is not alone in condemning the same-faith ticket. Other prominent Islamic clerics and Muslim leaders have also spoken in the same light.”
CATCH UP
Recall the APC and her presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a Muslim from South West Nigeria shocked many when he picked Kashim Shettima another Muslim from North East Nigeria as his running mate.
Tinubu’s choice was inspite of concerns against same faith ticket.
COMMENTARY
Indeed 2023 General elections, will beyond producing a new president, make a bold statement on the willingness of citizens to participate not just in the electoral process but in governance process.
The outcome of the polls maybe a determinant of how future party primaries will be conducted. It will be an eye opener to political parties, that their small list of delegates are not completely at liberty to do as they wish, without considering the general populace and electorates who have the final say at the polls. Indeed the sensibility of the electorates will no longer be taken for granted.
