Northern Nigeria Front for Equity and Good Governance has berated the clamour for a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election, noting that religion and ethnicity as determinants to guarantee Northern votes are misleading, divisive and untrue.
Briefing Journalists in Kaduna on Friday, President of the Northern Nigeria Front for Equity and Good Governance, Zakariya Abdul’aziz alongside other members, expressed the concern of the Front over the utterances of some few voices that have attempted to push out their narratives using religion and ethnicity under the guise of speaking for the north over the choice of political party candidates and their running mates.
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According to Zakariya, such a narrative is uncalled for, as the North has always participated in national politics as a diverse but united entity with common goals and aspirations, adding that their voting pattern has been characteristically nationalistic without regard for sectional, ethnic and religious consideration.
Here him, “we find it very divisive, careless and callous for some persons to say that the choice of a Christain from the north will not guarantee Northern Votes for certain political parties. They have brazenly and openly said that only the choice of a Muslim from the North as running mate to a candidate of the ruling party can guarantee the votes of the North.
“In other words, they are saying that a Muslim-Muslim ticket is the only way to victory for the ruling party. This is misleading and very divisive.
“The position is not only incorrect but an attempt to mislead the good people of the region into thinking that religion or ethnicity is the major determining factor for the voting pattern of the North”
The group further expressed that such very unfortunate voices seem to destroy the foundation of unity, oneness and equity which the founding fathers of the region toiled for.
The group said to demonstrate how untrue such positions of religion are, “one can give an example with the current leadership of the Northern Governors Forum which is Chaired by the Governor of Plateau State Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong happens to be a Christain among his colleagues that are majorly Muslims. Despite that, he has led them well and enjoyed their full cooperation and support. Where is the religious dichotomy coming from?”.
“It is our strong view that this argument is unfair and capable of portraying the North as being politically insensitive in the current effort to conclude the nomination exercise in some political parties. Our stand has always been that the North is known to be at the forefront of promoting inclusive politics in the country. Despite some challenges, the North always emerged exceptional in expressing itself as a nationalistic region”, they said.
