Fayemi's Gaffe Justifying Muslim-Muslim Ticket by Clement Wilson
Editor's note: Public affairs commentator, Clement Wilson, writes on the recent comments of Ekiti state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who justified the Muslim-Muslim presidential and vice presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress, ahead of the 2023 general elections.
I have read with disdain on several occasions the arguments pushed by the defenders of Bola Tinubu's Muslim-Muslim ticket to the public in total disregard to Nigeria's religious differences. These arguments most times often carry the toga of competence being the major factor for such unholy decision as if there are no competent Christians up north to take up the VP slot.
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Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of APC, who is a Muslim from Nigeria's southwest region, had, on July 10, 2022, announced Kashim Shettima, a Muslim from the northeast, as his running mate. This has sparked criticism from some Nigerians who described it as an “injustice” to the Christian fold.
In another twist to the savviness of the “Muslim-Muslim” ticket debate, the outgoing Ekiti helmsman, Governor Kayode Fayemi, recently said that the Muslim-Muslim ticket fielded by the All Progressives Congress (APC) was done based on political strategy. Fayemi said this during a courtesy visit by the new executives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ekiti state chapter, led by Emmanuel Aribasoye, its chairman.
Fayemi, who is the chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, would now come and be telling us that the decision to settle for a Muslim-Muslim ticket "was not on ground of competence, because we have competence Christians all over Nigeria, but on ground of strategic political move," imagine, all Nigerians Christians are now Tinubu's political neophytes. If you are not confident to present yourself following an acceptable national standard and be voted for, what sort of a leader will the president be?
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It is disgraceful that Fayemi, a Christian who had once moved against Tinubu due to his selfish political interest now sees the all Muslims ticket as the only combination that guarantees electoral success for a candidate whose regional supporters are apparently too close-minded to vote for a Christian. Calling such audacious move a strategy is not only unconstitutional but insensitive and it undermines the Christians relevance, trading them away over inordinate quest for power. And Fayemi will still call himself a Christian?
In 2016, sequel to the ongoing intraparty crisis segregating the leadership of the APC, Kayode Fayemi had chosen to pitch his tent with President Muhammadu Buhari and the national chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun, against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He realized he had to clinch with the presidency to sustain his political relevance and he was ready to throw a big stone at his supposed political godfather, Tinubu. What a smart move!
He said:
“Asiwaju’s antics are not new to us. We can never underrate his political calculations and permutations. Yet, we cannot continue worshiping him. He deserves respect that we are giving but should stop making this country and our party ungovernable for our leaders. The steering is always meant for the driver and not in conjunction with the conductor."
Those were the words of our unstable governor, who apparently had always had his eyes on the VP's position and has over the years envied Osinbajo's vice-presidential position since 2014. It was no wonder that he quickly stepped down for this same Asiwaju during the APC convention night.
That Fayemi today now sees Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as a political god and father that must be venerated by every standard exposes him as a politician with no principle and integrity. He has never stood for anything. Like Alexander Hamilton has once said:
"If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.''
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