Muslim-Muslim Ticket: Northern Christians Take  Protest to Buhari

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Protesters under the aegis of All Christians Community of Northern Nigeria Friday marched to the Presidential Villa to submit a protest letter to President Muhammadu Buhari over the Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had last week announced the former Governor of Borno state, Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate.

The Leader of the group, Moses Adams said the  sensibilities of the Christians  have been insulted by the ambition of a select few that have elected to throw caution to the wind. 

The Christian group said it wondered why the APC elected to tow this path of dishonour, which it described as deliberate to relegate the Christians in Nigeria into oblivion, 

Adams stated: “Mr. President , since the return of democracy in 1999 in Nigeria, the tradition has been a Muslim-Christian or Christian-Muslim paring by all political parties. And this has, to a large extent, ensured religious harmony in the country. 

“However, the move by our party to adopt a Muslim-Muslim ticket is most insensitive and the height of discrimination against Christians in our country . This is on the heels that other political parties indeed reflected the religious balance in the composition of their presidential team”

“As you may be aware, Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state. The two major religions in the country are Islam and Christianity. And these have defined our way of life since the country attained independence in 1960.”

The Christian group noted that successive governments in the country have respected the multi-religious nature of the country, especially during elections, to create a balance in the leadership of the country. 

It added: “We are therefore alarmed with the decision of the All Progressive Congress  (APC) to disregard the Christian community in the choice of its vice presidential candidate for the 2023 presidential elections. Without mincing words, this is unacceptable and a recipe for creating sharp divides between the Muslims and the Christians in the country.”

“Your Excellency Sir, we the Christians in Northern Nigeria are displeased and angered by this insensitivity. By their action, the APC sent a strong message that Christians are not relevant in the scheme of things in the country.”

The group insisted that the ruling APC has  displayed religious intolerance that would eventually bring about religious tension in the country if not reversed in the overarching objective of entrenching peace and tranquillity.