Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has described the adoption of the same-faith presidential ticket by All Progressives Congress, APC, as a political move guaranteed to end in spectacular failure.
Dogara said this while delivering a keynote address at a summit, “Meet The Church,” organised by Nigeria National Christian Coalition, NNCC, with the theme “The Role of the Church in Nation-Building.”
Taking a swipe at APC’s insistence on fielding Muslim-Muslim presidential candidates, he said: “In their convoluted posturing, they have placed state-building ahead of nation-building; a task never before achieved in history and we need no seer to tell us that such endeavour is guaranteed to end in spectacular failure. No divided people have ever built any civilisation.
“I am so elated that today’s church in Nigeria has shaken off the beast of complacency of the past into fire by speaking up and resisting measures adopted by some political platforms that will hamper nation building.
“In a manner that negated the fundamentals of nation-building, such as shared identity, values and visions, the APC adopted a same faith ticket in a country that has never attained nationhood.”
Dogara noted that long before the adoption of the same-faith ticket, the church had warned against it through the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Catholic Secretariat, ECWA and so many other Christian bodies.
He said: “These warnings were not only ignored, but also dismissed in one fell swoop by the APC presidential candidate, who strangely believes he can build a strong, secure and viable nation-state without first forging a shared identity, vision and values for our people, thereby enabling us transit from citizens of a country into a nation of people with strong shared identity and values.
“To demonstrate that the church is right, it is not alone in condemning the same-faith ticket. Other prominent Islamic clerics and Muslim leaders have also spoken in the same light.
“It is a good omen that both Christian and Muslim elite are not complacent over this matter. To this end, it will be easy to generate the needed elite consensus that is key to nation building. All nations are built by elite consensus, while all countries that failed in nation-building were destroyed by elite complacency.”
The former speaker also called on Christians to resist the temptation to waste their votes in the 2023 general elections.
“Every Christian knows that our God does not tolerate waste. It is unchristian for the church to waste anything given to us from above as we own nothing except what is given to us from above.
“I have gone to great lengths to demonstrate that the church must not waste its votes or sow same on unproductive grounds.
“Every Christian must see his vote as talents given to him by God to trade with and as seeds that must not be wasted.
Christians playing reactionary role in political process — NNCC
Speaking also, the vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, urged religious organisations and groups to show interest in engaging not just the political class, but the three arms of government as major stakeholders in Nigerian projects, especially on sensitive national issues.
He explained that by doing so, a lot more would be achieved in nation building.
According to him, though it may seem long overdue, Christians should navigate their way into the process of leadership in Nigeria.
Represented by Senator Uche Ekwunife, the PDP vice presidential candidate explained that Nigerians were tired of politicians who charted the problems bedeviling the nation, but lacked concrete solutions to the challenges.
Earlier, the convener of NNCC, Apostle Titilope Oluwadare, regretted that the church at present, was playing a mere reactionary part in Nigeria’s political process.
She noted that in every great nation, the main stakeholders engaged and negotiated power, positions and policies.
According to Oluwadare, it’s time for Christians to understand that until the church engages and brings forth her interests and drives it into ideas and fashion out political strategies, the system will not be sanitised.
“Therefore, we may continue in the circle of retrogression in the nation and the situation continues to deteriorate even further,” she added. (Vanguard)
