The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) has advised political parties who are scheming to field Muslims as the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates in the 2023 election to perish the idea which it said would lead to crisis.

The Catholic Church described the plan to field a Muslim/Muslim candidate as the most insensitive by many non-state actors who have been threatening the nation’s unity and peaceful coexistence without an arrest.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary-General of CSN, Very Rev. Fr. Zacharia Nyantiso Samjumi and the Director, Social Communications of the Secretariat, Very Rev. Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh.

The statement pointed to the crisis in the predominantly Christian people of Southern Kaduna which it said was caused by the Muslim/Muslim ticket in the state.

The Catholic Church said ordinarily there is nothing wrong with a Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian if there is mutual trust and respect for the human person and where the overriding desire for seeking political office is the fostering of the common good, but the present situation of the country does not suggest so.

The statement reads: “The process for the 2023 General election in Nigeria has been initiated and there are some things to be happy about: the passing of the Electoral Act 2022 which allows the use of electronic devices for accreditation and in the capturing and transmission of results; the prompt release of election timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); the renewed confidence in the electoral process by the electorate, as demonstrated in the massive last-minute turn out for voter registration amongst others.

“It is however disheartening to observe that the conduct of most of our politicians seems to be going from bad to worse as we witnessed a show of shame and heightened ugly culture of money politics during the recently held primaries.

“While all this is going on, we must not lose sight of the fact that the unity of this country has, over the years, been maintained by a delicate balancing of the religious and the regional.

“Even in the despotic military era, most juntas ensured a balance of the religious architecture in their regimes. For instance, we had Murtala-Obasanjo, Obasanjo-Yar’adua, Babangida-Ebitu Ukiwe, Abacha – Diya.

“This also applied to the heads of the various military formations and the different government parastatals like Customs, Immigrations, Finance, etc.

“Significantly, it was only during the General Muhammadu Buhari era as military Head of State (Dec 31, 1983 – Aug. 27, 1985) that we had a Muslim-Muslim military dictatorship.

“Similarly, only once did we have a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 1993 democratic elections, which featured the Abiola-Kingibe ticket and turned out to be one of Nigeria’s freest and fairest elections. But that government never took off!

“Fast forward to 2022, 30 years later, some individuals have tried to suggest the Muslim-Muslim ticket for the Presidential election in a country like Nigeria that has unfortunately been badly polarized.

“With the present glaring crisis and division in the nation, a Muslim-Muslim ticket would be most insensitive and a tacit endorsement of the negative voices of many non-state actors who have been threatening this nation’s unity and peaceful coexistence without an arrest.

“Going by the Kaduna experience, we can perceive the havoc the Muslim-Muslim ticket has brought upon the predominantly Christian people of Southern Kaduna,” CSN stated.

The church however advised political parties planning to field Muslim/Muslim candidates to have a rethink by presenting a more inclusive ticket.

It also called on Nigerians to resist this budding injustice that may be hatched against a cross-section of the people.

“In pursuit of peace, it is imperative to remind everyone that all Nigerians, irrespective of creed or region, are equal; as such, there must be sensitivity in the spread of political positions without compromising competence.

“Finally, we call on all Nigerians, individually and collectively, to do everything in their power to seek and work for unity and justice, so that we may attain that peace we all desire. There is no alternative to peace,” the Church added. (Nigerian Tribune)

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