(41): On the Election Postponement and the Religious Bigotry in Nigerian Politics

Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim

@muhsin234

The much-awaited Valentine Day election, fondly called FeBuhari 14th by supporters of APC presidential candidate General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB), was finally postponed yesterday, although many observers had long predicted it. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) has been feared by many to be, directly or indirectly, behind the dreaded Boko Haram (BH) insurgency. This undoubtedly sounds implausible, but no one can refute the allegation hands down. Can you? What’s your verified fact? There’s none.

The (In)dependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was apparently forced to postpone the elections to March 28 and April 11. Two main reasons could be deduced, and both are for pure, however mischievous, political gains by the ruining, nay, ruling party, PDP.

First, taking the above hunch that President Jonathan has a hand in the spread of the insurgency, this postponement is a clear vindication that he wants to elongate his tenure for only God knows how long. His death? He has already tried other measures, such as proposing a 7-year single tenure. As all those failed, he deployed this latest one. This, too, will not pass, for other presidents before him were unsuccessful.

Secondly, discarding the above suspicion, the Nigerian government wants to quash the insurgents, for, among other reasons, the opposition candidate, a retired military general, has been more popular as many believe he can get rid of the Boko Haram in no time. Nigerians ought to know well that BH should and could have been quelled a long time ago, but it’s now, on the scheduled Election Day, that an all-out war is said to be waged on them. What has the military been doing all that while?

And, on the bigotry issue:

As almost everyone sees, the President has been touring churches, including the opposition vice president candidate, Professor Osinbajo, in recent days. Needless to say, he’s seeking votes. There have been pictures of him kneeling before the clergy, including the prominent Pastor Adeboye and others. Some of those ‘God men’ have openly campaigned for him to their thousands of followers.

 

President Jonathan kneeling before Pastor Adeboye

In other instances, PDP’s chieftains like the prostituting secretary of the presidential campaign, Femi-Fani Kayode, have more than once said that APC is a Muslim party that wants to ‘Islamise’ the country. They plainly claim that it’s a BH party and it belongs to the northerners and all that. Surprisingly enough, a video of the VP, Namadi Sambo, describing the same opposition party as a Christian party recently went viral. He called on the electorates at the rally in Niger State to not vote them, for their PDP is more a Muslim party than APC.

No doubt, APC people too do somehow play the religious cards on the Nigerians, but not, in the least, that much. Imagine what would have been the case, especially in the southern-bloc media and on cyberspace, had GMB been visiting mosques in the North, kneeling before Imams and asking for people’s votes? What would have been the reaction of the people had he or his running-mate ever made a public speech calling on the followers of one religion to not vote for the PDP because it is a Christian or a Muslim party?

Simple, though shocking, fact be said: Nigeria is in terrible trouble. We are ruled by thugs, drunkards, crooks and bigots. Ruffians like Tompolo and Dokubo Asari treacherously and treasonably called for bloodshed should GEJ lose the election. Others said they would not allow anyone to vote against him in their polling units. And the DSS and police can only ‘invite’ them. Impunity in broad daylight! No doubt he got 99% vote in the South-South states in the 2011 election! But mark my words; GMB can never get the same, for, despite all his cult-like followers, who unfortunately murdered people, allegedly, for his loss, in the north, voters have the liberty to elect who they want.

May Allah save us and save our country from ruin, amin. God bless Nigeria, amin.