• How religion, indigeneship may influence choice of guber candidate
• Developmental issues may be ignored
BARELY two years away, issues of religion and indigeneship are already influencing the race to Alausa, the seat of governmental power in Lagos State.
Pointedly, issues of development may be relegated to the background, as
the Christian community, and indigenes move to choose the chief
executive of the state from among themselves.
The zoning of the
governorship is another problem confronting the political parties,
particularly the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), so as to avoid
being outwitted by the opposition camp led by the People’s Democratic
Party (PDP).
The Guardian’s investigations reveal that these
issues have been dormant since they were first mooted at the inception
of the current dispensation in 1999.
But those leading the
agitation for their adoption say the time for implementation is 2015,
reeling out arguments and figures why they should not only have their
say, but also their way.
According to findings, the Christian
community is being mobilised, and the Omo Eko gan gan ni are being
enlisted for what a respondent referred to as “the ultimate showdown
with the powers that have held us down.”
It’s a blame game all
over, but the findings will prove and/or disprove misinformation,
misrepresentations, half-truths, and outright falsehood being peddled by
proponents and opponents.
However, the ruling party has warned
against “fanning the embers of discord” and setting the state on fire
with religious and ethnic sentiment that could reverberate across the
country.
IT has been a subtle agitation right from inception of the
current dispensation in 1999. But the campaigning has taken a din of
some sorts, as 14 years on — it will be 16 years by 2015 — concerned
indigenes, and the Christian community of Lagos State have not seen any
significant changes from the status quo.
If anything, according to
the aggrieved voting public, there appears a deliberate policy of the
power brokers in the state to keep the two segments of the society in
perpetual second-fiddle standing in the political arena.
Thus,
they have vowed, according to numerous sources, that come 2015, the
existing state of affairs would be reversed “in the interest of peace,
belonging and togetherness.”
Besides these two hot potatoes —
Christian versus Muslim representation, and indigene versus non-indigene
candidacy — is the lesser, but also contentious issue of which
senatorial district will produce the aspirant(s) of the ruling party or
other parties.
This is the colour of politics in Lagos that
agitators are canvassing, and presenting to the movers and shakers of
power in the run-up to the 2015 elections.
Zoning the governor’s seat
FOR sure, the Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria
(ACN) (and the other political parties for that matter) will face not
one but the identified three challenges, and perhaps more, in looking
for a credible and acceptable successor to Governor Babatunde Raji
Fashola.
First, the party will need to resolve which of the three
senatorial districts will present the aspirants, among which the
candidate will emerge for the election and, all things being equal,
clinch the governorship to assume power in 2015.
Lagos Central had
produced two governors: Bola Ahmed Tinubu (1999-2007) on the platform
of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and later Action Congress (AC); and
Babatunde Raji Fashola (2007-2015), on the podium of AC and Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and probably when registered, completing his
tenure under the fledgling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The
Second Republic governor of Lagos, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, who served on
the stage of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) between 1979 and
1983 emerged from Lagos West, leaving Lagos East, which is clamouring to
have its turn, the only senatorial district yet to present a governor.
In the choice of its candidate in 2015, the ACN would also need to
consider the interests of other political parties involved in the
ongoing attempts to merge into APC.
However, being the dominant
party in the state among the ones in the merger arrangement, the ACN may
not have any difficulty convincing the All Nigeria Peoples Party
(ANPP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and a faction of the All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to cede the governorship slot to it
under the APC.
Except, of course, the merging parties would not
give cognisance to political strongholds of their respective platforms,
and thus throw open to the participating parties the contest for
elective offices in all the states of the federation.
Still, the
ACN needs to consider the strategies of other political parties outside
the merger, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the main
opposition party in Lagos State at present.
Where is the PDP,
acclaimed for its zoning formula, picking its governorship? Is it from
the same Lagos East that is harvesting the clamour for power shift? And
what other things are the opposition parties doing to undercut the
electoral advantage of the ACN in the governorship election?
Cry for a native chief executive
COMING down to the brass tack, both the Christian community and
indigenes of Lagos State categorically say it’s about time their own
mounted the seat of power in Alausa.
But that is where the
convergence seemingly stops. While the Christians want to see a
“practicing” member in the true sense of the word in the saddle, “the
indigenes, first and foremost, want a native, a local, an ‘aborigine’,
if you like, to be the governor of Lagos State in 2015,” a respondent
told The Guardian at the weekend.
For emphasis, the source said:
“Our people (indigenes) want the governor we can call our own; a ‘son of
the soil,’ a Lagosian, not just born and bred here, but also one that
his or her forebears had roots in the place.
“In other words, we want Omo Eko gon gon ni; Omo Eko pataki for governor in 2015.”
On this score, there is no discriminating between a Christian and a
Muslim governor; what the indigenes want is a governor of Lagos origin.
However, they would not mind flowing with the mood of the majority —
if that majority favours the emergence of a Christian governor, “so long
as the person is an ‘original’ indigene of Lagos.”
Agitators of
the enthronement of an indigene as governor are not in short supply;
they peopled mainly by those who have been out of power since 1999.
Thus, weighing on the instant issue, one of the Lagos PDP governorship
aspirants in 2011, Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi, condemned a condition where
Lagos indigenes are relegated while citizens of other states are
appointed as commissioners, elected into the State House Assembly,
National Assembly and other positions.
“Some of these people got
financially empowered and later return to their states to contest,” he
said. “How many of them can allow what they’re doing in Lagos to happen
in their states of origin?
“If non-indigenes continue to consume
what belongs to indigenes to their exclusion, on the spurious and wicked
grounds that Lagos is a ‘no man’s land,’ as they used to say, or that
Lagos ‘belongs to all,’ indigenous Lagosians, who are being deliberately
and insidiously excluded from governance, will react.”
Gbadamosi
added: “The sad thing is, even the Federal Government is playing this
perfidious game of excluding Lagos indigenes from participating in the
Nigerian project.
“Lagos currently has no indigene in the
National Executive Council (NEC), contrary to the provisions of Section
147(3) of the 1999 Constitution.”
But statistics quoted by a
source during our investigations present a different picture from the
prevailing Christian-Muslim, indigene and non-indigene arguments, at
least, in the Lagos State executive council and the permanent
secretaries cadre.
The source from the Office of the Head of
Service, said out of the 41 members of the state cabinet, 24 are
Muslims, 17 Christians, 31 indigenes and 10 non-indigenes.
“Out of
the 55 permanent secretaries, 35 are Christians, 20 Muslims while 41
are indigenes and 14 non-indigenes,” the source said.
Also giving
statistics with reference to the 2013 Lagos State Diary, the source
disclosed the Judiciary comprises 52 judges out of which 34 are
Christians, 18 Muslims, 33 indigenes and 19 non-indigenes.”
Two
spokespersons of the ACN commented on the subtle allegation that the
leadership of the party is sidelining the indigenes of the state to the
advantage of non-indigenes, who enjoy political appointments and
elective positions.
The National Publicity Secretary of the
party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and the Deputy Publicity Secretary of the
ACN in Lagos State, Mr. Funso Ologunde, warned yesterday that those
trying to use religion and ethnicity as a weapon to achieve their
inordinate ambition must be careful.
Urging people earning their
livelihood in Lagos never to buy into such sentiment, they prayed that
the residents should not experience what is happening in Plateau State
between the “indigenes” and so-called “settlers.”
Harping
specifically on the cosmopolitan nature of Lagos, Mohammed, who did not
deny the inclusion of non-indigenes in elective and appointive positions
said, “it is near impossible to disregard the presence of non-indigenes
in Lagos, to talk of sidelining them.”
Noting that people, who
left the ACN, would not reveal the real reason they left, he said “it
always takes a lot of consultations and persuasion by the leadership of
ACN before taking any decision pertaining to Lagos State because of its
cosmopolitan nature.”
“For instance, the senator, representing
one of the districts in Kaduna State, is an indigene of Nasarawa. There
is even another example of a senator representing Kogi State, who is an
indigene of Osun State.
“So, what is the basis of the subtle
campaign based on religion and ethnicity? No country or state has ever
survived by sidelining non-indigenes. It is not possible.”
“We
must be careful to avoid using religion and ethnic sentiments to
campaign. Are they saying people, who have lived over 100 years in a
particular state, have no constitutional right to participate in
politics?
Mohammed recalled that, “during the Civil War, Lagos
was the only place where the Ndigbo did not abandon their properties.
(Meaning that those who left the state on account of the war, came back
to their properties unhindered).
“It is important that Lagos is a
cosmopolitan state,” he said, adding that, “I want people to take the
census of indigenes and non-indigenes representing the state, to know
the exact position of things.”
According to Ologunde: “Nobody
within the rank and file of the party is harping on ethnic divide in
respect of appointments, and elective positions, among others. I wonder
why now and what they want to achieve?
“I want to believe that
some people outside the party are bent on destabilising Lagos State
ahead of 2015. God, in His infinite mercy, will not allow it.”
He
said Lagos is a melting pot of culture, where different ethnic groups
had survived, intermingled and did business together for hundreds of
years.
“Those behind this unholy campaign will not like the
consequence,” Ologunde said. “I pray God not to allow their evil wish;
otherwise, even the farthest villages in the country, far beyond the
shores of Lagos, will feel the impact of the slightest ethnic or
religious crisis here in Lagos.”
Still the arguments and canvassing continue.
Campaign for a ‘Man of God’ no more ‘rumour’
The agitation that the ACN must present a Christian as its governorship
candidate in 2015 may no longer be wished away, as in the past.
For instance, the subject is reportedly generating crisis within the
rank and file of the ACN, where there are conflicting responses among
the members.
Approached for comments, a senior member of the
party, considering carefully what to divulge, simply said: “I don’t want
to talk on this matter because of its sensitivity.”
His reason
is that, “we have many non-Lagos indigenes that are Christians, and they
have been supporting us, but you cannot also overlook the economic
impacts of the Christians.”
He revealed that, “as a matter of
fact, this issue came up during Tinubu’s tenure and it was so
controversial to the extent that a census of Muslims and Christians in
the Civil Service and political appointments was taken.”
“I don’t
know how it was later resolved. But I am too sure the ACN will not be
doing itself any good if it pretended or glossed over this issue,” the
source said.
But Funso Ologunde dismissed as rumour that the issue
is generating crisis within the party. “PDP is the brain behind the
campaign and they will fail,” he said.
He noted that the PDP had
presented more Muslim candidates than Christians for the governorship
elections in Lagos since 1999.
“I wonder who is behind this
matter? It is a deliberate attempt to distract (Governor) Fashola and
set the state on fire,” Ologunde said.
Stressing that the Lagos
State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) “has been
very supportive to the ACN administration since 1999,” the party
mouthpiece argued that, “if at all such agitation will come, it’s coming
too soon, as if the ACN has been in power for more than 100 years and
did not present any Christian (governor).”
Ologunde said that the
party was yet to begin the process of looking for Fashola’s replacement,
as “there is still time. The Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) has not set up election programme for 2015; so, why the
distraction now?”
He said the ACN has been preaching and
encouraging Christians across the country on the need to participate in
politics. But “that should not be turned into a cheap blackmail to
attract religious division in Lagos,” he warned.
He appealed to
all leaders in the state to dismiss and disregard the insinuation
(agitation for a Christian governor in 2015), noting that, “the stand of
the ACN is to ensure the best candidate govern Lagos and we remain
committed to that policy.”
Toeing the same line of argument, a
lawmaker representing Lagos East Federal Constituency, Mr. Lanre
Odubote, dismissed the agitation that a Christian must become the next
governor of Lagos.
Wondering why the issue of competence, equity,
justice and loyalty must be jettisoned for religious sentiment, he said
it was a dangerous precedent to introduce religious sentiment into
Lagos politics.
“This could be very dangerous, not only for the
state, but also the Southwest zone and Nigeria in general,” he said.
“Any attempt to distabilise Lagos is tantamount to trying to distabilise
Nigeria.
“Lagos, unlike other states, provides opportunity for
anybody born and bred here to participate and aspire for any political
position, irrespective of religion, their backgrounds, ethnicity and
others. Our focus in Lagos is basically merit.”
Odubote contented
that “what is important is that the 2015 governorship slot should go to
Lagos East; it must not be determined by religion.”
On the
senatorial district to present the flagbearer of the ACN for the
election, he disclosed that, “contrary to the belief that Tinubu emerged
governor on the ticket of Lagos Central, the former governor and leader
of the party used the slot of Lagos West.”
“Fashola came through
Lagos Central, although they were both Muslim but their spouses practise
Christianity. Therefore, the issue of religion is a mere campaign of
calumny,” he said.
Christians pick up the gauntlet
IT was
gathered that some members of the Christian community in the state have
commenced the campaign for a Christian to emerge as the ACN governorship
flagbearer in 2015.
They argue that since 1999, and despite their
large population, economic impact and enormous supports for the party,
“Christian aspirants in the ruling party were always edged out whenever
election was drawing close.”
Indeed, the Director of Political
Affairs of the Diocese of Lagos Mainland of the Anglican Communion,
Venerable Folarin Shobo, sounded a note of warning to politicians, who
are ridding roughshod in Lagos, that it would no longer be business as
usual in 2015.
He said the state could not afford to continue
with the present arrangement in which public officers and elected
officials are largely people of a particular faith.
Acknowledging
that Governor Fashola has done well in improving on the infrastructure
in the state, the cleric said: “It is time for power to shift. It is
time for us to have people who will continue to rule with the fear of
God and respect for the rule of law.
“There is a strong need for
genuine internal democracy among the parties that will produce a
credible (Christian) candidate in 2015.”
However, Shobo urged Christians in the state to show interest in partisan politics and not be intimidated by the status quo.
“Christians who have a calling to go into politics should begin to
prepare for the 2015 elections because power has to shift,” he said.
While explaining that getting political power is not a do-or-die
affair, Shobo said, “we just have to get to a point that we must stop
dancing to a particular tune all our lives.”
“It is not fair to
have a government that is largely tilted to favour people of a
particular religion. Christians over the years have been magnanimous
enough.
“We have worked for people who are not of our faith and
we have supported them to be in government. It is now time for us to
come out and take the bull by the horns.”
But he admitted that the campaign would “take patience, perseverance and strong will.”
“It will take fasting and praying and it will take the readiness of
men and women who have the calling to go into politics,” he said.
Shobo, who served as accredited monitor and observer during the 2011
elections in Lagos State, said the call for Christians to join the
political bandwagon was not a call for mediocre “but a call to people
with integrity who have the heart to serve.”
“We trust God and
we are working assiduously to ensure that the next governor of Lagos
State after Babatunde Raji Fashola is someone who is a Christian and who
has a heart to serve,” he said.
Most Lagosians believe that
Fashola, who has his roots in Surulere, is a native of Lagos, even as
some are not so sure, insisting that he is a “settler.”
According to Shobo: “Politics and religion go hand in hand. There is no way you can divorce politics from religion.
“A true Christian should realise that he has a divine obligation to
render service. Politics is about rendering service; it is about
sacrifice. Anybody who cannot sacrifice should not think of going into
politics.”
The priest called on church leaders to begin to
sensitise their members, to take up the gauntlet and vie for political
positions in the state.
“Asking for a Christian governor in Lagos
at this time is not out of place. It is long overdue and it is time we
began to do something about it,” he said.
Those penciled for 2015
ARE those concerned in the ACN actually taking note of the agitation
for a Christian governor in the state in 2015? Well, indications on
ground suggest a no and yes response.
Going by speculations, there are fears that only one among those penciled down to replace Governor Fashola is a Christian.
Some of the names being bandied include a former three-term
commissioner and current National Legal Adviser of the party, Dr. Muiz
Banire; Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji; the
Commissioner for Works, Obafemi Hamzat; and a three-term lawmaker,
Senator Ganiyu Solomon.
Others are: Senator Gbenga Ashafa;
Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Gbolahan Lawal; the
lawmaker representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency, Abike Dabiri-Erewa
and Senator Oluremi Tinubu, a Christian and wife of Asiwaju Tinubu, who
recently said that she was not cut out for the governorship.
Venerable Shobo seized on this disclosure and said that, “it is
unfortunate that of all the people that are being tipped to take over
the state from Fashola, none is a Christian.”
“We are not going
to be forceful but we are going to make our case and continue to
mobilise our people to present themselves for service,” he said.
“The days of seeing politics as a dirty game are gone. If it is dirty, we (Christians) should go into it and clean it up.”
Nonetheless, an inside source in the ACN said the issue of a Christian governor “is already generating controversies.”
“The party leadership is deliberating on it and seriously looking for
a solution,” the source said even as it added that, “it is a mere
rumour that the ACN is wooing Mr. Jimi Agbaje, a Christian and top
member of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) into the governorship race.
“There is nothing like that. If it becomes inevitable for the party
to present a Christian candidate in 2015, there are many credible
Christians in the party,” it said.
It was learnt that but for his
Christian faith, Agbaje was to be supported by ACN powers in 2007 to
emerge candidate, and governor of the state on the party’s pedestal.
In the current case however, the source divulged that consideration
is being placed on the likes of the Chairman, Lagos State Internal
Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler or Mr. Tayo Ayinde, who are
Christians.
The source said it would not be fair to accuse
Tinubu and other leaders of the ACN of nursing any bias against the
Christian community in Lagos.
“Tinubu always acknowledges the
support he enjoyed from the Christian community since 1999,” it said.
“For instance, he is aware of the support from the Christian community
during his travails with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the
withholding of Lagos council funds.”
Still, the source agreed that
there is, indeed, imbalance in the number of Muslims and Christians
serving in the State Executive, elected officers in the State House of
Assembly, the National Assembly and at the council level.
“Over 75
to 80 per cent of members of the State Executive, State House of
Assembly and representatives of the state in the National Assembly are
Muslims,” the source said, adding; “therefore, it is very clear there
are more Muslims public officers, political office holders and
appointees than Christians.
And the inevitable question: Has the
leadership of the ACN in Lagos adopted a deliberate policy to frustrate
or stop Christians from aspiring to govern the state?
As a
respondent analysed the situation, “the development within the ruling
ACN has suggested nothing but the fact that anytime a Christian aspires
to contest for the party’s governorship ticket, they are either
frustrated or shown the way out of the party.”
The source cited
instances of former Deputy Governor under the Tinubu administration,
Mrs. Kofoworola Akerele-Bucknor, her successor, Mr. Femi Pedro; and the
first Deputy Governor under Fashola, Mrs. Sarah Sosan.
While the
State Assembly, on the alleged instigation by Tinubu, impeached
Akerele-Bucknor, Pedro and Sosan were dropped from their positions under
unclear circumstances.
Scores of others like the late Funso
Williams (formerly of the AD), Jimi Agbaje, former Senators Olorunnimbe
Mamora and Adeseye Ogunlewe (later a former Minister of Works) were
either relegated in the AD/AC/ACN affairs or forced to leave the party
under controversial conditions.
Roll call of Lagos governors by faith
SINCE Lagos came into existence on May 27, 1967, through Decree No. 14
promulgated by the Federal Military Government, 13 administrators had
governed the state — nine military and four civilians executives.
Brigadier-General Mobolaji Johnson, a Christian, became the first
governor, followed by Commodore Adekunle Lawal, a Muslim, who was
succeeded by Commodore Ndubuisi Kanu, another Christian.
Commodore
Ebitu Ukiwe, a Christian, took over from Lawal from 1978 to 1979, and
handed over to Lateef Jakande, a Muslim, as the first
democratically-elected governor on the platform of Unity Party of
Nigeria (UPN).
In 1983, a military coup disrupted the Second
Republic, which gave room for another military administrator, Air
Commodore Gbolahan Mudashiru, a Muslim. Navy Captain Mike Akhigbe, a
Christian, took over from 1986 to July 1988.
Brigadier-General
Raji Rasaki, a Muslim assumed office from 1988 to January 1992 before
handing over to another civilian governor, Sir Michael Otedola, a
Christian, who ran on the platform of the National Republican Congress
(NRC). It was obvious that the bickering within the rival Social
Democratic Party (SDP) gave Otedola the seat.
Interestingly, the
two candidates of the SDP in 1992 — the now deceased Prof. Femi
Agbalajobi and Chief Dapo Sarunmi, who were later disqualified for
over-heating the political arena of Lagos, and thus the entire
transition programme in the country, were Muslims.
The Third
Republic was aborted in 1993, paving way for the emergence of another
military administrator, Colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola, a Christian.
In 1996, Colonel Mohammed Buba Marwa, a Muslim, handed over to another
elected governor, Senator Ahmed Tinubu, a Muslim, who won under the AD
in 1999, handed the baton to incumbent Governor Fashola, a Muslim, in
2007.
Blame imposition of candidates
CONTRARY to arguments
that Christians are generally apathetic to politics, hence the alleged
imbalance in the Muslim-Christian structure in the Lagos political and
public service, investigation reveals that the problem has to do with
imposition of candidates in the ACN.
And quite naturally, all blames are being heaped on former Lagos governor and leader of the party, Chief Bola Tinubu.
One of the leaders and indigenes of Lagos (name withheld) accused
Tinubu of being the brain behind the systematic relegation of Christians
and indigenes of Lagos from benefiting in the running of the state
affairs.
“I must confess to you; there is a civilian coup against
Christians and Lagos indigenes and Tinubu is the one behind it,” the
source said.
According to the source, “the injustice started since 1999 when Tinubu became governor.”
It alleged that the plan was “hatched and finalised” somewhere
outside the country “among some Muslim leaders and top government
officials.”
“A situation where the three serving senators and majority of the lawmakers are Muslims is worrisome,” it said.
The source continued: “Imagine a former Deputy Minority Leader in the
Senate, Olorunnimbe Mamora, a Christian, was dropped and replaced with a
Muslim, Gbenga Ashafa, while Senator Ganiyu Solomon, a Muslim, who has
been in the National Assembly for the third time, is allowed to
continue.
“These are issues we need to examine critically before
2015. There was nothing like religious discrimination in Lagos until it
was introduced under the ACN.”
A founding member of Lagos State
chapter of PDP, Chief Olayinka Amos, called on Lagos indigenes to wake
up and challenge the alleged excesses of Tinubu, whom he accused of
“indirectly trying to turn himself into a tin god of the state.”
Similarly, Chief Gbadamosi said, “as an indigene of Lagos from a
multi-religious family background, my first instinct is to dismiss the
religion argument in politics.”
“However, a closer examination of the allegation against the ACN does lend it some merit.
“There is a significant indigenous Christian population in Lagos
State, who must not be made to feel like second-class indigenes in their
own state, especially considering their numerical strength,” he said.
According to him: “Each of these individuals had their specific
issues with the owner of ACN, arising almost wholly out of his now
obviously insatiable need to utterly dominate his environment, and
directly control all others totally.
“I can say this for Senator
Bucknor-Akerele, Chief Femi Pedro and the late great Engr. Funso
Williams, who all refused to be tools in the sleazy hands of a despot.”
However, coming to the defence of Tinubu, Lai Mohammed described the
allegation as “malicious and capable of plunging the state into a
religious war.”
Fielding questions via the telephone, he cautioned
the citizens of Lagos and Nigerians to be careful “and to have at the
back of their minds that no nation has ever fought a religious war and
survived.”
Specifically on the allegation against Tinubu and the
ACN, Mohammed said: “If Tinubu has any bias against Christians, he
wouldn’t have returned Mission Schools (in Lagos) to the Churches in
1999.
“I could remember, as Tinubu’s Chief of Staff then, that the
return of the Mission Schools generated a lot of criticisms from the
Muslims, and even within Tinubu’s immediate family.
“But he dammed it and went ahead to return the schools. Should we now stand and accuse such a man of nursing religious bias?”
Mohammed noted that it was under the administration of Tinubu that a church was built in the State House, Marina.
“When we took over in 1999, we met a mosque that was in the State House but Tinubu built a church to balance the equation.
“Beyond that, there were several Christians in his cabinet like Prof.
Yemi Osibanjo, Mrs. Kemi Nelson, Wale Edun, Yemi Kadoso, Leke Pitan,
Opeyemi Bamidele (now a member of the House of Representatives from
Ekiti State), Prof. Sobowale and many others.
“And this same
Tinubu has a wife that is a Christian and a pastor in the Redeem
(Christian) Church of God and likewise, Fashola, whose wife is a Dame in
the Catholic Church.”
The ACN scribe urged politicians not to
promote religious sentiment, as “the country and its politics will
definitely outlive all the active players now.”
“It is, therefore, necessary that we show serious and unrepentant caution to introduce religious sentiment into politics.”
Mohammed challenged Nigerians and particularly the people of Lagos
State, to carry out a thorough research on the number of serving
Christians and Muslims in the Lagos cabinet from 1999 till date,
stressing, “I can assure you there is nothing like what PDP is
insinuating.”
He said: “When we formed Alliance for Democracy (AD)
in 1998, the leading figures in the party were all Christians; they
were Abraham Adesanya, Olanihun Ajayi, Chief Olu Falae, Ayo Adebanjo, Pa
Fasoranti, Akinfenwa and others. And nobody questioned their authority
based on religion.
“It is, therefore, unfair and very dangerous to encourage this type of sentiment.”
On the claim of Muslims leaders in Lagos State having a pact with the
Caliphate, Mohammed said, “whosoever has the copy of the pact should
produce it or anybody who was in the meeting or privy to names of those
in attendance should speak out.”
“Our party does not encourage religious sentiment and it is unfair to accuse Tinubu based on that,” he said.
Everything considered, will the situation change in 2015? Will a
Christian and/or indigene eventually assume the political power in
Alausa?
Put succinctly, can the ACN pick a Christian as its gubernatorial candidate for the election?
The answers are blowing in the wind!
Source: Guardian
