…Politicians set Muslims, Christians against one another in Kaduna — Sani
The Chairman of Kaduna State chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Reverend Joseph Hayab, yesterday asked Nigerians to ignore the state’s immediate past governor, Nasir el-Rufai, over the alleged Islamisation claims made by him.
He also said the ex-governor’s recent statement on the Muslim/Muslim ticket and the fact that the victory of President Bola Tinubu silenced his critics was a ploy and divisive tendency designed to further his (el-Rufai’s) interest.
The CAN chairman, who was reacting to a trending video on social media, which showed el-Rufai saying the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the Kaduna governorship election would be sustained beyond 20 years in the state, spoke on a day former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, also alleged that Muslims and Christians in the state were set up against one another for political gains.
El-Rufai’s spokesman, Muyiwa Adekeye, could not be reached for his reaction yesterday, as his phone failed to connect.
However, in the video, the former governor, who spoke in Hausa, also claimed that Muslim domination was being replicated at the national level.
But reacting to el-Rufai’s alleged comment in an interview on Arise TV’s Morning Show, yesterday, Hayab said Nigerians should not be bothered about el-Rufai’s comment as he was just seeking relevance and playing to the gallery to deceive unsuspecting Nigerians.
According to him, el-Rufai is living in the dream that he could play these religious games, and possibly become the president of Nigeria tomorrow.
He said: “You know, since he (El-Rufai) is up to something, he is playing a game and what he would do is to confuse people and set up Christians against Muslims; set up Christians against the present government, and then he would stand to benefit from it tomorrow. Unfortunately, I will say to him he has failed from the onset.
“With this, he has actually proved to Nigerians that he is not in the first place fit to be a leader and I think that is one of the problems in Nigeria. We give people power without testing their emotional stability, whether they are mentally alright to lead.”
When asked to give an official response to el-Rufai’s statement, Hayab said: “Our simple response is that he be ignored. Ignore the man who is up to a gimmick, who is up to an agenda, don’t even take him seriously.
“If his Muslim/Muslim ticket has actually succeeded, we wouldn’t have had the killings, the division, and the problems we have in Kaduna.
“El-Rufai is deliberately also setting a trap and a slippery ground for Bola Tinubu,” Hayab said.
Politicians set Muslims, Christians against one another in Kaduna
— Shehu Sani
Meanwhile, former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, has alleged that Muslims and Christians in the state were often set up against one another for political gains.
His comments followed the statement credited to el-Rufai in the same viral video.
Sani in a tweet, yesterday, however, said he had read the reactions that trailed the video, adding that it was nothing new.
He wrote: “Bigotry is a state policy in Kaduna State for the past eight years. Muslim and Christians were set up against each other for political gains. Clerics were drafted and paid to propagate hate and divisiveness.’’
Sanni further alleged that the government purported itself as the champion of the interest of Muslims while it inflicted suffering and hardship on the same people.
“The past government maintained a systemic policy of marginalisation and repression of the people of Southern Kaduna because of their faith and political choices.
“Over the years, some of their leaders were arrested for voicing out. The last act was the proscription of one of their groups.
The former senator said most of such clips were cunningly and deliberately not done in the English Language.