A group, Indigenous Ethnic Youth Leaders of Nigeria, has cautioned in strong terms the call by some sections of the country for political parties to have a Muslim-Muslim ticket for next year’s presidential election.
It said the call for a Muslim-Muslim presidential tickets in the present political dispensation is the highest level of intolerance.
This was contained in a statement yesterday by its national chairman, Gonet Nensok Luka and national organising secretary, David Ogbu.
They pointed out that contemplating a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the first place is evil in a multi-religious and ethnic country like Nigeria.
According to the statement, there should be more clamour for good governance amidst the burning insecurity and economic hardship and people should be advocates of justice, equity and fairness.
The organisation referred to a trending video on social media where some clerics are calling on the major political parties’ presidential candidates to pick Muslim running mates explaining that such act is capable of breaking Nigeria’s fragile unity.
“We condemn in strong terms this hate speech that undermines the sensitivity of our diversity. Such clergymen are not fit to man the pulpit and should be arrested by security agencies to restore confidence in our unity,” the statement said.
It stated that in simple ideology, the measurement standard for leadership is the ability to deliver good governance; but it is also constitutional that government structures should be allotted reflecting federal character at all levels, not only in ethnicity but also in religion considering the present situation of Nigeria.
The organisation said those driven by religious sentiments are the problem of Nigeria today saying all ethnic groups in Nigeria have members of all faiths including atheists.
The statement noted that the self-prioritization of one religion over others by some unguided clerics and unscrupulous social media elements is autocratic extremism.
The Indigenous Ethnic Youth Leaders of Nigeria called on the Nigerian Police, Department of State Security Service (DSS) and other relevant agencies to be proactive and stem the spate of instigation on the pulpit by supposed teachers of faith.
“It is therefore left for political parties and their presidential candidates to be just in their decision of selecting their deputies/vice for inclusive governance and stop at nothing but mobilize all ethnic nationalities to vote for a unifier who carries all along.
“We frown at any attempt by individuals or groups of persons who, careless about our secularism, want to prioritize one religion over others to instigate us against one another,” the statement added.
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