Ahead of the 2023 general elections, renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has counseled Nigerians to be united and talk about Nigeria first as according to him, the three regions have lost control of their people.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna, on Monday, Gumi who x-rayed the three major presidential contenders, Tinubu, Atiku, and Obi concluded that in this 21st century, Nigerians should do away with ethnoreligious politics and come together as one united people for the progress of the country.
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“Nigeria is now in the 21st century, people are more educated now. What Nigeria needs now are people with competency. We should not be talking about North, because the North is no longer monolithic, we should not be talking about the Southwest because no particular person is in control, we should not be talking about South East, look at how Senator Ifeanyi Uba was attacked by his own people.
“So let’s talk about Nigeria as one united people. Nobody controls anybody in the country. So let’s move forward. Look at America, nobody is talking about power rotation. Let’s develop democracy that we can sustain,” he stressed.
Speaking on the former vice president and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku, the Islamic scholar noted that he had contested severally for the top post and there’s nothing wrong for one to aspire several times.
To this end, he said the country need an experienced politician like him.
“Nigeria needs an experienced politician. We don’t need a novice to be president. The situation in Nigeria today needs an experienced politician to solve it.”
While commenting on the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Gumi said, the statement accredited to the APC candidate that, “it is his turn to be president”, is not proper for him to say it.
“There is no question to say, it is my turn. Don’t say it is my turn because if people like you, they will vote for you. He is a good administrator, he can do it.
Gumi also said, “The Muslim-Muslim ticket is unnecessary. We all know, all these politicians are looking for votes.
“The Muslim-Muslim ticket is, let me use Hausa language, is wayo (deceit). It is not religion. Whether it will work or not, I don’t want to prophesize, but there are a lot hurdles. In fact, all the political parties have hurdles. Muslim-Muslim ticket is going to be a laboratory test for others to emulate or not.”
On Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, he remarked , “the youths following him are divided like the adults. He needs to reach out to other segments of Nigerians.
“Relying on youths is not enough. He has to be all over the place, and not leaving politics to one region.”
Gumi warned that, if an inexperienced politician is voted into power, he will find it difficult to assemble best brains within a possible time framework to set the nation working progressively.
Citing an example with President Muhammadu Buhari, the Islamic scholar maintained that it took the president over six months to appoint ministers and government officials because he (Buhari) was an inexperienced politician.
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