Plateau publisher, lawyer differ on APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket

Publisher of The Beacon, a magazine based in Jos, Plateau State, Shabul Mazadu, has expressed discontent over the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, “after wide consultations”, chose former governor of Borno State,  Kashim Shettima, as running mate. Both of them are Muslims.

Mazadu, in an open letter yesterday, slammed Tinubu for choosing another Muslim to be his running mate in the guise of competence, noting that it did not go down well with majority of the Christians in the country.

“We have interpreted Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket as a means of suppressing our faith and making us play the second fiddle in a country where we all have equal rights. In such a situation, there is no doubt that we can get emotional and be pained, and if care is not taken, we might take wrong decisions.

“It is clear that Tinubu’s decision is a political strategy to destabilise the North and cause enduring friction between us and our religious counterparts, which we must be careful not to fall prey to his political gimmick.”

We will never have a state in the North that is devoid of Christians or Muslims and only harmonious co-existence can bring peace, unity and progress in the region. I cannot say that there is no squabble among the Yoruba nation, but to a large extent, they have religious tolerance which keeps them living in harmony, unlike the North where we have so many religious crises.”

BUT a renowned legal practitioner in Jos, Emmanuel Ndubueze, has punctured the arguments of those who are against Muslim-Muslim ticket, saying it all depends on individuals and their history of performance.

Ndubueze told The Guardian, yesterday, in Jos, that he was very much aware of Shettima, who performed creditably when he was governor of Borno.

According to him, it is time people stopped religious sentiments, but base their arguments on performance and issue-based contentions.

“This is a man who performed very well while in office as the governor of Borno. Besides, he appointed commissioners into his cabinet across religious backgrounds. Muslims were there. Christians were there. He performed well to the satisfaction of the people of the state.

“He did not fail them. So, for him to be chosen as presidential running mate to Tinubu is okay, if you want performance. There is nothing wrong in choosing him as the running mate,” Ndubueze added.