Atiku: Muslim-Muslim ticket, Unwelcoming

Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and candidate for the presidency of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claims that his main disagreement with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the front-runner of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stemmed from his desire to serve as the latter’s running mate in the 2007 presidential election.

Atiku claimed that the Muslim-Muslim ticket put out by the APC was “unwelcoming and unripe for Nigeria as a democratic state” in remarks made on Friday on Arise News TV.

ON SUBSIDY REMOVAL
“It is inevitable that it will happen. I believe through negotiations again with the organised labour and other sectors of the economy the subsidy removal should be resumed and completed.” Atiku Abubakar pic.twitter.com/0k2VKLsGPN

— ARISE NEWS (@ARISEtv) July 22, 2022

[quotation name=’Atiku Abubakar’]Asiwaju planned to be my running mate in 2007 but I disagreed. I have always opposed Muslim-Muslim ticket. I don’t believe this is ripe for countries like Nigeria. There should be balance.[/quotation

Atiku stated that there should be a religious balance in our leadership because Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country.

In the 2023 presidential election, the PDP presidential candidate stated confidence that he will defeat the APC presidential candidate.

He also denied claims that Senator Kashim Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate in 2023 will hurt Tinubu’s chances in the North-East.

The Muslim Muslim Ticket

To the dismay of many, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) made a decision that baffled many when its presidential candidate, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, chose Senator Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim and former governor of Borno State, as his running mate after some initial hesitation. While some criticise the APC for being insensitive by fielding a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, others view it as political suicide since they think it will hurt the Party’s prospects of winning the election. Some APC leaders have protested this move by resigning from the Party in displeasure.

Dr Daniel Hassan Bwala, an APC stalwart who resigned from the party in protest after expressing his displeasure with this event, noted that the Northern minority Christians had been devoted to the northernization dream of shared wealth. The minority Northern Christians have not only connected with the rest of the North in conflicts but have also suffered a lot in the endeavour from the times of Sardauna of Sokoto, the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, who established the nothernization concept of equity and shared wealth. They can no longer be trusted to be given their fair share of opportunities in governance after more than 60 years. In other words, due to their religious affiliation, they are not Northerners, and you’re going to tell me the APC isn’t engaging in identity politics?

Unfortunately, Asiwaju has shown that his government would not only accept and embrace the injustice, but he will encourage it under the pretext of competence. The clamour called for fair and equitable leadership that will solve it. There just doesn’t appear to be a path to happiness in the APC for any Christian, much less a Christian politician.

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