After his emergence as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate in March 2000, George W. Bush saddled a former Secretary of Defense, Richard Cheney, with the task of leading the search for his vice presidential candidate. After three months of extensive search, Cheney recommended John Danforth, a former Attorney General of Missouri. But Bush turned round to pick Cheney as his running mate. While making the announcement of his running mate, Bush said regional considerations played no role in his decision to pick Cheney, adding that his decision was informed by the need to have a running mate who would be able to take over immediately should the president be unable to discharge his duties. Bush then said that Cheney, who had worked under five federal administrations between 1969 and 1993, was qualified, respected and shared his vision for America.
The Bush-Cheney ticket went ahead to win both in 2000 and 2004.
Bush got away with closing his eyes to regional considerations and other sentiments because in the United States of America, there are strong institutions that protect citizens from the shenanigans of public office holders. Consequently, the citizens do not make having people of their region or religion in high offices a focus. But the story is different here. In Nigeria, what you get from government is a function of your proximity to power. The closer you are to those in power the easier and better your chances of getting justice, protection and provision. The reverse is also true. Therefore, while a presidential ticket is a complementing act in the United States, here in Nigeria, it is a balancing act. A presidential ticket is used to give a sense of inclusion to those who would have felt left out and to calm frayed nerves.
In 2007, it was obvious that since the presidency was reverting to the North, it was expedient that the vice presidential candidate must come from the South-South region because of the restiveness in that region at that time as a result of resource control agitation. That is why former President Olusegun Obasanjo picked Dr Goodluck Jonathan. With that, the agitation subsided and crude oil production shot up. Jonathan eventually became the president and that region has been largely peaceful since then.
In 2015, what gave Professor Yemi Osinbajo the edge among those being considered as General Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate was not just his region but also his religion. The then All Progressives Congress’ presidential candidate, rightly or wrongly, was perceived as both a tribal champion and a religious extremist principally because he led some northerners to the late Alhaji Lam Adesina, former governor of Oyo State, to complain about alleged maltreatment of some northerners in the state. He was also said to have been picked by Boko Haram fundamentalists to represent them in a dialogue with the government. Given this background, candidate Buhari needed a strong Christian to aid his appeal to non-Muslims. This is what propped up Professor Osinbajo. The former university lecturer did not get on that ticket because of his political exposure or competence, he made it because of his Christian faith. In the same vein, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu missed the ticket because of his faith. This is despite the fact that the merger between Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), which produced APC, was broached by him.
Last Sunday, while paying Sallah homage to President Buhari in Daura, the APC presidential candidate for the 2023 election, Senator Tinubu, named a former governor of Borno State and a fellow Muslim, Kashim Shettima, as his running mate. While justifying his choice, Tinubu said Shettima is “eminently qualified not only to deliver that all-important electoral victory but, also, to step into the shoes of the Vice-President.”
The APC presidential candidate added, “I am aware that many will continue to focus on a particular detail, the question of his faith… If we truly understood the challenges upon us a country, we must also see the imperative of placing competence in governance above religious sentiments.”
The choice of Shettima has ruffled feathers as Christians across the country have railed against the Muslim-Muslim ticket. Some APC chieftains have dumped the party because of this, while one of Tinubu’s closest allies, Babachir Lawal, openly condemned it, saying the ticket was meant to weaken the party. A group that referred to itself as APC Christians from the North said it would be difficult for its members to campaign for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
The reactions are not surprising because Christians feel that the ticket has sidelined them. Even despite having a Christian vice president in Professor Osinbajo, the Christian community in the country has suffered repeated attacks from terrorists and religious bigots. Recently in Sokoto State, some youths took the law into their hands and stoned a lady to death because she was said to have blasphemed the Holy Prophet. Churches are raided and razed regularly, while attacking and abducting pastors has become very fashionable. The thinking, therefore, is that if Christians have become victims of attacks even when the second highest office in the land is occupied by a Christian what would happen when their faith is no longer represented in the Presidential Villa?
With the little I know of Tinubu, I am convinced that he did not reach the Shettima decision perfunctorily. He must have taken his time to weigh his options before settling for a Muslim-Muslim ticket. I believe that one of two factors must have influenced the decision. The first is to think that the Christian votes do not matter and that he could win the election even with a gang-up by Christians. Nasir el-Rufai did this in Kaduna State in 2019 and won reelection. The second is to believe that he can sway the Christians to support him despite their exclusion from his presidential ticket. I am persuaded that the second, rather than the first reason, determined his choice.
However, the question agitating the minds of many Nigerians now is that can Tinubu win with his Muslim-Muslim ticket? I think he can win essentially because I do not see the Christians voting as a block. But what kind of presidency would he have should he win? What kind of country would we have under a Muslim-Muslim presidency? From all indications, the Muslim fundamentalists would become more emboldened in their attack of those opposed to their way of life because neither the president nor his deputy would want to openly condemn people of his faith.
Would Christians be allowed to practise their faith without molestation? Would the institutions protect them from unwarranted attacks? These are some of the concerns of Christians. That is why balancing a presidential ticket is sine qua non because it gives a sort of psychological assurance.
I believe that sometime in the future, the region and religion of public office holders will not matter in Nigeria. But this is not the future, this is now and the reality at the moment is that both factors matter a great deal. To think otherwise is to believe that Goliath killed David.
and then