Voters pour scorn on Tinubu’s plot to further Islamise Nigeria after Buhari
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Northerners in general are comfortable with Bola Tinubu picking Senator Kashim Shettima as his presidential running mate on the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket, and some Southern beneficiaries of Tinubu’s patronage are also selling it.
But for the majority of citizens, pockets of them in the North and the majority in the South, Tinubu’s audacity in scheming to take Nigeria for a ride is dangerous in a society where people easily gang up against others based on tribe or religion.
Christians and Muslims both know that no Muslim, radical or rational, particularly in the North, will ever accept a Christian-Christian presidential ticket.
Voters, mostly Southerners, have been venting their disagreement since Tinubu broke the news on Sunday, as reported by TheNiche the same day.
Tinubu, former Lagos Governor, announced Shettima (APC Senator, Borno Central) a few hours after he visited President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura.
Buhari is also a Muslim who would have occupied Aso Rock for eight years by 29 May 2023 when a new President would be sworn into office.
Shettima had served as Borno Governor for eight years from 2011 to 2019. He became a Senator in 2019.
Based on his qualifications and record as Governor in the North East ravaged by Islamist jihadist, Nigerians are saying he could well become Vice President or President but it is dangerous for him to do so on the ticket of a fellow Muslim.
Shettima’s emergence as Tinubu’s running mate has ignited a debate on social media especially on Twitter where some believe Tinubu has shot himself in the foot for opting for a Muslim-Muslim tag team.
Critics knocked him for fanning the embers of religious divide, which both Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubukar and Labour Party (LP) candidate Peter Obi have avoided in order to win the hearts of voters.
Some tweets noted that Chibok girls were kidnapped under Shettima’s watch as Borno Governor in 2014, others insisted Tinubu’s decision leaves them with only the option of voting for Atiku or Obi.
Below are some of the reactions on Twitter, collated by Vanguard:
@firstladyship
“Tinubu picked Shettima, making the APC a Muslim-Muslim ticket. We are not voting for ethnicity or religion. We are voting for MERIT. We are voting against Corruption, ASUU Strikes, Hunger and Poverty, National Grid Collapses, Mad Insecurity, Crazy Inflation, etc. AM I MAKING SENSE?”
@nigeriasbest
“It was Shettima alongside Lamido Sanusi who said that the Niger Delta receiving 13% [derivation] was one of the causes of Boko-Haram…If you elect divisive characters, volenti non fit injuria …”
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Related articles:
Muslim cleric condemns Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim plot
Muslim-Muslim ticket an insult to fairness, Nigerians react on Tinubu’s VP pick
Tinubu can only win by rigging, says Primate Ayodele
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@thebardogbamola
“This same Shettima was governor when the Chibok girls were kidnapped. This is the governor that despite the warnings of @GEJonathan (former President Goodluck Jonathan) that no exams should take place, he still went ahead with the exams and #Chibokgirls got missing. This is the person @officialABAT (Asiwaju Bola Tinubu) wants as vice.”
@ayemojubar
“Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket with Shettima will influence the decisions of at least 5% of voters in the coming election. Nobody plans to make 2023 election religion based, but the fear (of) Islamisation agenda which Buhari started is becoming too real and too scary.”
@NabirAbduls
“You can insult me because I said no to a Muslim-Muslim ticket or not in support of Shettima. I really don’t care about insults.
“I have a bright future ahead of me and I have Peter Obi who got my interest and that of every Nigerian at heart…”
@biodunalexa
“Tinubu running a Muslim-Muslim ticket by choosing Shettima is his choice. He believes Muslims alone in the SW [South West] & the North can give him his Victory. Nigeria finally belongs to Muslims alone according to APC.
“Everyone vote your choice. Thank God there is a third candidate in Obi.”
@edwardessien
“With Tinubu/APC choosing Shettima on the Muslim Muslim ticket, the race is now between Peter Obi and Atiku. Peter Obi will be President 2023. Bookmark this!”