On his policies, the former Lagos helmsman added: “We must move the nation forward more quickly so that hatred and pettiness haven’t a chance to imbed themselves and become the main colours of the fabric of our society.”
“Asiwaju is not going to Islamise Nigeria when he did not Islamise his own family that are Christians”–Shettima
In a news report of September 16, 2022, “The issue Islamisation of Nigeria has sparked a national debate over whether it is ideal for a party to present a same-faith presidential ticket.”
Kashim Shettima, the Vice presidential candidate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress has assured the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu will not Islamise Nigeria if he becomes president in 2023.
The APC presidential candidate, Tinubu and his running mate Senator Shettima are Muslims. The issue has sparked a national debate over whether it is ideal for a party to present a same-faith presidential ticket
Progressives Congress has said the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu will not Islamise Nigeria if he becomes president in 2023.
The Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, on Thursday described the choice of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to field Muslim presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the 2023 election as an affront to Christians.
The Primate called on Nigerians to reject the party and vote it out, adding that APC’s decision to go with a same-faith ticket was a calculated plot to “Islamise” Nigeria, NAN reports.
The cleric insisted that if Nigerians vote for the party, religious and social discrimination and open public enforcement of the Sharia law will be done in some parts of the country.
However, the APC vice-presidential candidate on Thursday at the 96th Anniversary Lecture of the Yoruba Tennis Club described the controversy over the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the party as not necessary.
He said Tinubu’s wife, Remi “is not only a Christian but a senior pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God as well.”
Noting that there is religious diversity in Tinubu’s household, Shettima said, “Some of Asiwaju’s children are Christians.
“How can you convince someone that Asiwaju is going to Islamise Nigeria when he did not Islamise his own family?”
However, Bishop Funmilayo Adesanya Davies, the Secretary of Elders Council, Nigerian Supreme Council for Ecclesiastical Affairs (NSCEA) opines, “But we need to be assured and re-assured by the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu,again and again, because of what the Christian community in Nigeria has gone through in the hand of APC led Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in the immediate past.”
The level of insecurity, kidnapping, killing and persecution of Christians in Nigeria is unbelievable and disappointing. Again, Nigeria belongs to several Islamic organisations, which is also of concern, and we wonder if you can tackle with resolve as Nigeria is a secular Nation.
We would also recall, that the “Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had met with the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) as part of engagements for the forthcoming 2023 general election on the same issue.
Among those that accompanied Tinubu on the visit were his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, Governors Hope Uzodinma (Imo), Abdulahi Ganduje (Kano), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Speaker of the Federal House of Respresentarives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, former Abia state governor, Orji Uzo Kalu and former governor of Benue state. Senator George Akume.
The meeting with the CAN leaders is to afford the APC candidate the opportunity present his plans and also respond to some otorny issues that have trailed the APC’s presidential campaign, among which is the Muslim-Muslim ticket that the Christian body has kicked against over and over again.
“Tinubu told CAN that he sees Nigerians as equals and as brothers and sisters in the national family, meaning that no one is inherently inferior or superior to anyone else.
“The former Governor said that anyone who does not hold the view that all Nigerians are equal regardless of faith, place of origin, social status and gender should not run for president in a country such as ours. In his words:
“I understand the tremendous importance of your work and have nothing but the deepest respect for your selfless contributions to our national cause,” Tinubu said.
“I did not come here to flatter you. Yet, it is necessary to state that I see your work as essential. No society or nation can rightly function or achieve greatness without its moral and ethical fibre being properly intact.
“Without the right frame of mind and disposition of heart, we cannot attain the good place God has destined for this nation.
“Thus, I see as mutually reinforcing what I hope to be my future responsibility as president and your ongoing responsibility as a vital moral compass for the nation. My belief in the need for secular government and faith-based organizations to work in unison is not something adopted recently to benefit my campaign.
“This cooperative agenda describes my entire political career. As Governor of Lagos, I partnered with the Christian to improve lives and foster education. For instance, I returned mission schools to their owners, most of who are Christians.
“I instituted yearly Christian Denomination Service at the Governor’s residence as we approached the new year. This tradition continues in Lagos. More importantly, we fostered an atmosphere of religious tolerance and inter-faith collaboration..My cabinet was diverse and talented. In the exercise of government, I did not give a thought to whether a team member was Christian or Muslim, Yoruba, Igbo or Arewa.
“I have never lent myself to baseless prejudice and discrimination. To do so would be a recipe for failure in the governance of a diverse society and I am not a man that is familiar with failing.
“I never chased people out of Lagos nor made them feel unwanted. Under my administration, Lagos welcomed all comers and continues to do so today. After me, Lagos has had one Muslim and two Christian governors.
“I may not be perfect. What human being is? But I am not a petty man secretly wedded to secret biases and prejudices. This brings me to the question on the minds of many here. Why Senator Kashim Shettima? Why a same-faith ticket?
“Well, I did not choose Senator Shettima so that we could form a same-faith ticket. The ticket was constructed as “a same progressive and people-based ideology ticket.
“I offer a confession. I selected Senator Shettima thinking more about who would best help me govern. Picking a Christian running mate would have been politically easier. But the easy way is rarely the right one. The selection of a running mate is at once a very momentous yet very intimate decision.