Any political party that fields a single faith ticket as being contemplated in some quarters will risk national stability as such action is capable of harming the peace and security of the country.
This is according to a group, Nigeria Democracy Defence Watch, which maintained in a statement on Sunday, that the ruling party must avoid any action that seeks to portray Nigeria as an Islamic or sectarian country as this will be resisted by a huge part of the population.
In a 7-page letter written to President Muhammadu Buhari, the civic group warned that if the ruling party goes ahead with the Muslim/Muslim ticket, it will attract the reaction of practising Christians, moderate, progressive Muslims, civic groups, ethnocultural associations and enlightened members of the international community.
Signed by Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Adamu and Otunba Adeniji Niyi Adegoke, the National Coordinator and National Secretary of the group, respectively, the group’s letter titled “APC’s Muslim/Muslim Ticket in Nigeria’s 2023 Elections: A Threat to National Stability, Regional Peace and Security,” stated that it is worried especially because of the international dimension it is taking with a recent letter by five United States senators to the US Senate where they called for re-listing of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to the worsening sectarian violence in the country.
Recall that the US Senators had observed that “horrific acts of deadly violence have been committed against Nigerian Christians in recent weeks, including the massacre of churchgoers on Pentecost Sunday and the stoning of a Christian college student. Sadly, such violence has become all too familiar for Christians in Africa’s most populous country…Religious violence and intolerance directed toward Nigerian Christians has worsened in recent years. One report documented more than 4,650 cases of Nigerian Christians who were killed for their faith in 2021.’
The group, therefore, called on President Buhari to advise the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, on the possible threats this action could pose to security in the country.
It wrote: “It is pertinent to note the serious implications of the above with regards to security. This is especially when one rightly imagines that Christians will feel threatened with a Muslim/Muslim ticket, and may resort to pulpit preachings and mobilisation of opinions across the Christendom.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune