By On Sunday, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu finally named Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the next general elections, after weeks of speculations and wait.
Shettima is a former two-term governor of Borno State, and strong ally of the APC flagbearer. He currently represents Borno Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
Tinubu settled for a Muslim-Muslim ticket, in what may be a considered a snub to the earlier criticisms against such move by prominent Christian stakeholders including the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
The APC flagbearer, in a statement, however defended his choice of the former governor, saying “religion, ethnicity and region cannot always and fully determine our path”.
As expected, the announcement of Shettima as the APC vice-presidential candidate has stirred mixed reactions in the polity.
Reacting to the development, Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo described Shettima as “the perfect choice”, adding that former governor is “fiercely loyal” and “phenomenally complimentary” to Tinubu.
The governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum also applauded the APC flagbearer for picking Shettima, saying the choice is “the wisest choice at this point in time”.
However, CAN believed that Tinubu’s decision to opt for a Muslim running mate means that he failed to considered the country’s religious diversity.
“If Tinubu says he is opting for a Muslim-Muslim ticket in a polarised country like ours, if Nigerians endorse him and vote for him, whatever happens, Nigerians will face the consequences,” CAN spokesperson Adebayo Oladeji told The PUNCH in an interview.
Segun Showunmi, a former spokesperson to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, argued that the ruling party and its flagbearer “hates” Nigeria.
In a tweet on Sunday night, Showunmi said the APC cares more about winning than national unity, and must be made to pay its “extreme lack of thoughtfulness”.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, also condemned the ruling party for settling for a Muslim-Muslim ticket, describing it as terrible and insensitive.
“Nigerians, whether Muslims, Christians, Traditionalists, etc, should reject APC with their votes come 2023. A Muslim-Muslim ticket in present-day Nigeria is fuel for Boko Haram, incentive for ISWAP and a call for more terrorists,” he said in a statement.
“Unless of course those parading the ticket are themselves complicit.”
