The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has begun subterranean mobilization of Christians in the country in preparation for the 2019 general elections. In CAN’s most recent election-related stunt, particularly on social media, Christians were instructed to shun Muslim candidates (especially President Muhammadu Buhari) and to vote massively for Christian candidates instead.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) condemns CAN’s resort to acrobatic religiousity in the political arena. It is parochial, pernicious, myopic and unpatriotic.
Politicisation of religion will not take us anywhere in this country. It is to the glory of our gymnastic religiousity that we are clever devils today. In spite of the proliferation of churches and mosques on our streets, our paradoxical criminality has no equal under the sun. Is this the time to dig deeper into religious zealotry by indulging in religious politics?
MURIC calls on Nigerians to reject CAN’s attempt to drag Nigeria into the abyss of another religious crisis over the 2019 general elections. It is crude, naïve and infantile. We urge citizens not to allow excellence to be sacrificed on the altar of mediocrity. Serious nations focus on result-oriented criteria like credibility, pedigree, ability to deliver, high level patriotism, farsightedness and industry. Nigeria should be the issue, not primordial sentiments like religion and ethnicity.
MURIC’s advice to Nigerian Muslims: Don’t vote for religion. Shun ethnic blindness. Afterall, many of those who corruptly enriched themselves are Muslim politicians. Vote according to your conscience. Those who stole billions of naira from the public treasury did not think of their Muslim brothers when they were stealing. They were driven by egocentricity, not by their love for Islam. If a Christian candidate has the right qualities, vote for him. This is about Nigeria, not about the mosque. We will cross our bridges when we get to them.
In a nutshell, we urge responsible Christians all over the country to ignore CAN’s pernicious and tortuous propaganda of ‘Christians vote for Christians’. Nigerian Muslims should vote for candidates trusted for delivery of the dividends of democracy, not for religion. Looters who try to deceive Nigerians in 2019 will have themselves to blame if Muslims, Christians and traditionalists can come together to shun corrupt elements in society during the 2019 elections. Imams, pastors and priests should publicly rain curses on looters to keep them at bay.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
English 