They say that for peace to exist, there is need to understand that all Nigerians are equal irrespective of creed or religion, and add that the aspect of equality calls for “sensitivity in the spread of political positions without compromising competence.”
“Ordinarily, there would have been nothing wrong with a Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket in a democratic dispensation 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,” Catholic Bishops in Africa’s most populous nation say.
Making reference to some events in the past, the Catholic Church leaders explain how unity was fostered through balancing of religion and regions. They say that despotic military eras in the country in the past, including most Juntas, “ensured a balance of the religious architecture in their regimes” as a way of ensuring unity.
They give the examples of Murtala-Obasanjo, Obasanjo-Yar’adua, Babangida-Ebitu Ukiwe and Abacha-Diya presidential tickets in the past, saying that there is need for such to be embraced in the country at the moment.
CBCN members say that past presidential tickets also “applied to the heads of the various military formations and the different government parastatals like Customs, Immigrations, and Finance with an aim of fostering unity.”
“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,” Catholic Bishops in Nigeria recall in their June 14 statement shared with ACI Africa.
They also recall the 1993 elections, saying that that was the only time the elections were free and fair, even though the presidential candidate and his running mate were both Muslims.
“Only once did we have a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 1993 democratic elections, which featured Abiola-Kingibe ticket and turned out to be one of Nigeria’s freest and fairest elections,” the Bishops say in their statement signed by CBCN Secretary General, Fr. Zacharia Nyantiso Samjumi, and the Director of Social Communications, Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh.
The Catholic Bishops’ statement echoes that of the representatives of Christian leaders under the auspices of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) who, in a June 10 Facebook post, said they reject a “Christian/Christian, Muslim/Muslim ticket” for Presidency.
CAN officials argued that nominating presidential candidates and their respective running mates from the same religious denomination in the 2023 general elections is “a threat to the fragile peace and unity of Nigeria”.
