Since the emergence of ex-Borno Governor, KashimShettima as running mate to the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, ex-House of Representatives Speaker YakubuDogara and the disgraced former Secretary to Government of the Federation BabachirLawal, have been jointly crusading against the Muslim-Muslim ticket, embarking on endless pilgrimage to the ruling elite, to stop a possible Tinubu/Shettima presidency next year.
There have been cheers and jeers. There are also those who are not comfortable with their message, but not in a hurry, to dismiss the nuances. This in-between group, prevalent in the Christian community, can still be swayed but it is going to require more than appointing a Christian campaign Director General for the ticket, considering that the relevance of such DG, ends when the election is won and lost. For Christians seeking assurances that a Tinubu/Shettima Presidency would be fair to them, before giving their votes, especially in Tinubu’s South West, it is better to sit with their leaders, to seek what they desire, instead of working out the permutations for them, or renting fake bishops to represent them. In the situation the ticket has boxed itself, words of assurance, won’t be enough.
That is the central message of Lawal and Dogara’s crusade, now speaking for Christian North. Truth is, the various testimonies from Northern Christians about how the majority Muslim political and religious leadership has consistently tried to eternally shut down their voices, make their struggles and aspirations, different from their Southern counterparts. No doubt, the deal over there is raw and whatever assurances given to Southern Christians, may not suffice for them, up there. It appears that for Christians up-North, it is going to be a no-deal with the APC ticket and their leaders, have kept faith, ringing it in the ears of those who are usually, though mostly in derision, tag the “owners” of Nigeria.
But many have dismissed their evangelism, as sour grapes, for losing out to Shettima, in the bid for the slot. Maybe true, because until the contest lumped them together, Babachir and Dogara weren’t known to be soulmates. While Babachir had always been a Buharideen until the grass-cutting saga, Dogara has largely been an itinerant politician, moving in and out of political parties, as opportunities, presented themselves. Yoruba will likely dismiss their current crusading as “rikisi pa won po, won d’ore (united by conspiracy).
Somehow, the characterization can fit, because until they lost out, there was no crusading for anything noble, outside politics. Speaking up now, for Northern Christians, who can do with extra weighty voices blaring their woes in the hand of the ruling elite over there, can also be dismissed as crass opportunism. Hausa will call them munafiki. More like, digging gold in misery field. When you want to test the fidelity of campaigners, throw what they are asking for to them, to pick someone amongst them, to have it. That is when the true strength of their character and purpose, can be established, especially if one of them, is allowed to have it, without an uncivil war.
In this situation, such an opportunity no longer exists. The slot seems irretrievably gone, though with God, Jesus says nothing shall be impossible (See Mark 10:27). Until something else, in form of appointment considerations come to the minority Northern Christians, we won’t be able to know whether leaders like Dogara and Lawal, have the right temperament, credibility, and selflessness, to lead the growing Christian population in the North East.
My personal opinion is that both aren’t the ideal messengers, given their past. Both have been accused of corruption in their public service. One was indicted and on trial. The other, still bears the scars of budgetgate. Both too, would not be the ideal pick for and from the Christian community in the North East, if the candidate had favoured the faith, because the choice of Shettima was nothing but pure religious consideration. That is why it is crass dishonesty to diffuse the tension generated by the APC ticket, with, “it should not be about faith but capacity”. Is someone saying Shettima is the most capable from the North East, across faiths?
Proper and unbiased scrutiny of his public service records will answer the question in the negative. Personal experiences of those who have also encountered him one-on-one, don’t also suggest him a flexible personality or a good man.
A story was told of how he came to Oyo State as the head of APC peace team when some gladiators were battling former governor IsiakaAjimobi. One of them, told me that Shettima’s proposed peace plan was Ajimobi framing him up with a contract, then railroading him, into corruption net, so he won’t bother the governor again. The chieftain said he simply walked away from the peace talks. As a committed party man, the Oyo chieftain is today campaigning for the Tinubu/Shettima ticket.
The peculiar Nigerian political landscape is one reason Babachir and Dogara’s message should be well-considered, even if the messengers aren’t considered credible enough. The message of Jesus to the world, was also well-doubted and His identity, regularly-challenged. At a point in His assignment, He asked the disciples about the feedbacks they were getting concerning His identity. (See Matthew 16:15 and Mark 8:27). No, He didn’t need people’s validation. He just wanted to be sure His own had a better understanding of who they were following.
No doubt, Dogara and Babachir have the name-recognition in national politics. Yes, their current credibility rating may not be top-notch, but they can change the negative narrative, if they will stay true to their self-imposed liberator identity which brethren up North, have wholesale bought into and staying connected. They must know there would be recriminations, tribulations, trials, temptations, traps and mischief to break their ranks, if they decide to stay on course till the end.
The moment they make a support-choice on behalf of Northern Christians, for either Obi or Atiku as earlier promised, they should expect all hell on them, in the zone, because going for someone like Atiku, who already has a leg in, due to his ethnic identity, could do APC in completely, not only in the North East, but also in the North Central. If Obi is the favoured for the up-North “minority” support, the multiplier effect would be a solidarity support from majority Christian Southerners, which could completely ruin Tinubu’s chances, even with his people.
As of 2005, which is 17 years back, there were an estimated 19 million baptized Catholics in Nigeria. Obi is Catholic, known to the papacy. Despite the fact that Boko Haram started by targeting Christians, the church has a whole, hasn’t stopped growing. A Pew Research Centre says Nigeria has the largest Christian population of any country in Africa, with more than 80 million persons belonging to various denominations.
In a recent edition of The World Christian Encyclopedia (Johnson and Zurlo 2020) drawn on figures assembled and updated as part of the World Christian Database (WCD); those who identified as Christians in Nigeria were said to be 46.3% of the total population, Muslims, 46.2 and ‘ethnic religions’, 7.2%. Those professing the Christian faith are also said to dominate South West, South South, South East and North Central. Is Shettima’s electoral worth, worth risking the ire of the Christian faith?
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