Uniting Nigerians more important than winning elections-Dogara
By Emma Joseph
Former House of Representatives Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, on Friday says uniting Nigerians is more important than winning elections.
Dogara stated this in his remarks as a guest speaker at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Northern Christian Leaders Summit, with the theme “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people”.
He said that if Nigerians wanted to see the nation exalted, the citizens must insist the country does the right things.
“Let me reiterate the fact that we are here to talk about what is right and what is wrong.
“To my mind what is right is not just to win elections but to unite Nigerians both now and after the elections so that we can collectively build a Nigeria that works for all regardless of creed.
“As President Obama warned, `if you have to win a campaign by dividing people, you are not going to be able to govern them. You won’t be able to unite them later’.
“This is spot-on because anyone who wins an election by dividing us would have to keep us divided in order to govern us. This is not what any reasonable and peace-loving Nigerian wants,’’ Dogora said.
The former speaker said that politics all-inclusive was important to heal the country’s national fault lines and unite its disparate peoples for nation building.
Dogara said that he considered the decision by the APC to settle for a Muslim-Muslim ticket for presidential and his running mate in 2023 general elections as not a bold but bad decision because it fueled inequality which was a way of upsetting the balance due to the universal law of cause and effect.
He added that such action would also bread division which was counter-productive to the collective aspirations for a united and prosperous nation, saying Nigeria’s strength was not in numbers but unity.
“You are not strong because you are many; you are strong because you are united.
“Nigeria cannot survive if we merely tolerate each other or if the happiness of one group is the unhappiness of the other group.
“ But if we are united, we will be indomitable. And if all of us: Muslims, Christians, atheists, the old, the young, women and men work together and pray together in unity: believe me; we will be invincible.
“On the corollary, many are the nations and empires that could not withstand divisions.’’
Dogara, however said that that the concerns of APC Northern Christians on the party Muslim vs Muslim ticket for 2023 general elections was not targeted against an individual or party but about justice, fairness and equity.
“When we talk about a Muslim-Muslim ticket; God forbid that we should be understood to be objecting to Muslims or that we don’t want Asiwaju Tinubu to be president.
“It is not about Sen. Kashim Shettima either, but it about what is right and what is wrong.
“It is about justice, fairness and equity. It is about Nigeria; it’s diversity and how it can be harnessed in an inclusive manner for the greater good of all of us.
“ Be that as it may, some of us really wanted Asiwaju to be president because he has sacrificed much for our Party, the APC and for what he represents to so many people.
“So, our position cannot be against Muslims or Islam. That fact cannot be denied in any way,” he said.
Dogara advised that going out from the summit the participants should continue to resist injustice to sinews, no matter who is for or against it because it was the requirement of the just God.
“Let us go out from this summit with the resolve to seek out our Muslim brothers and sisters who believe in unifying our people in order to usher in the much need peace and advancement for Nigeria to unleash her true potentials.
“I am sure we will jointly agree on a platform that would advance our collective search for unity, peace and development. Believe me, the only alternative is the road to Yugoslavia. God forbid!
“If we want to see Nigeria exalted, we must insist she does the right things,’’ Dogara said.
In his remarks, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, said that every divisive attempt in the 2023 general elections should be rejected by all patriotic Nigerians.
Lawal said that for the APC, a Muslim-Muslim ticket had been a long-term political strategy and not a one-off decision.
“Thus, all this talk of competence as the reason for the choice of the Muslim VP is balderdash and diversionary.
“This is a calculated anti-Christian exclusion agenda that is being implemented.”
Lawal said that the northern Christians would massively deploy their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) and prayers as their weapons in the choice of 2023.
“It is important to reiterate that we Northern Christians want to live in peace and harmony with all practitioners of other religions.
“We want to enjoy social and economic developments like other parts of the world but without peace, justice and religious harmony, this is not possible.
“On our part, we neither seek to oppress nor dominate any one or any religion. But we will also resist any one trying to discriminate against us and our religion,’’ Lawal said.
He added that “clearly, there is an agenda to politically, religiously, and economically suppress and oppress the Northern Christian.
“But we are up to the task. We will protect ourselves. The PVC and our prayers will be our weapons of choice and we will massively deploy them in 2023.
“But while we are ready to battle this politics of exclusion and oppression, we are open to discussions with any one who wants to engage with us in good faith.”