2023 Elections

By Abubakar Usman Almajiri

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, is more of an albatross to Christianity and Christians. The excessive aggression and confrontational behaviour of its ranks have always caused Muslims to rise, be on the alert, and engage in retaliation or reprisals. The latest in the reaction of Muslims to CAN intrigues is their response to the so-called Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket. 

In this same country, we have seen Generals Aguiyi-Ironsi and Yakubu Gowon rule with a Christian head and Christian 2iC. Not a single person raised an eyebrow. We have also seen a time when Moshood Abiola, a Muslim, contested with a Muslim 2iC and won. 

Today, Bola Tinubu has contested a Muslim-Muslim ticket just as a matter of winning strategy, not a religious sentiment. People within CAN who felt they should be the VP candidates, Babachir Lawal and co, went hey war. They rallied CAN and Christians against that. And they mislead Christians into the idea of a Christian candidacy that has just failed. 

The failure is not even the problem. The problem is in what translates to in the future. Nigerians will now openly engage in religious politics with all the dangers that spell. The atmosphere is already overcharged by that, and almost nothing can be done. 

Let us not forget that CAN, a religious minority in Nigeria compared to Islam, has always banked on the death of Muslim presidents to clinch power. 

President Umar Musa ‘Yaradua died in power under controversial circumstances. He was believed to have been poisoned. In any case, his choice to succeed General Olusegun Obasanjo was made after scrutinising the medical files of serving PDP governors under Obasanjo. The one who is most terminally ill, ‘Yaradua, was opted for. The objective was for him to die in power so a CANist could take over. 

CANists taking over is not a problem. The problem is always how they run governance in the most despicably lopsided manner. A manner that hurts and kills people of the North and Muslims. We have an example in Goodluck Jonathan’s regime. Also, in the Obasanjo regime.

Obasanjo has done the most heinous maltreatment of Muslims before him. He also attempted to extend his tenure beyond constitutional provisions. He attempted to change the constitution to favour his self-succession bid. When that failed, he searched for the most sickly Nigerian governor to hand over to so that power would return to him via his pawn. That happened. The pawn he had in place betrayed him but remained a CAN puppet. 

Boko Haram grew from an Obasanjo strategy to the monster it became under Jonathan. Via fight against Boko Haram, the beautiful and commerce burbling City of Bags was completely burned to ashes by Gen. Ihejerika under Jonathan. A civil war hero, Gen. Shuwa, was murdered cold-bloodedly in suspicious circumstances.

Jonathan, like Obasanjo, used the opportunity of inheriting the presidency under emergent situations to lure serving a governor in a Muslim-dominant state (i.e. Kaduna) with Vice Presidential positions so that their Christian deputies would become governors. 

That happened in Kaduna State with Vice President Namadi Sambo, who chose to accept the Vice-President position, paving the way for Patrick Yakowa. Yakowa ruled Kaduna state in the most lopsided manner. He rigged his re-election bid, and to protect his rule, the entire Muslim side of Kaduna was kept with soldiers and sandbags every inch. We lived like that for years until Yakowa died in a plane crash. Boni Haruna had the opportunity to run Adamawa state similarly. 

There were hues and cries, but I am unsure what happened there. 

CAN now has this strong penchant for having Muslim rulers die in office. The death of Yar’adua was openly celebrated even though he was a perfect gentleman. President Muhammadu Buhari almost died due to a suspicious ailment. The celebration began even before he died. And they kept expecting him to die. They even propounded the theory of ‘Jubril of Sudan’ to assert that he died and was exchanged. That’s how desperate they are. 

The Muslim-Muslim ticket would not have been in vogue it is without the desperate aggressions CAN employs.

I know many people who despised Kaduna’s Muslim-Muslim experiment and are now very happy with the National Muslim-Muslim ticket.

Abubakar Usman Almajiri wrote from Kaduna State.

By Auwal Umar

One thing that is exciting about democracy is its being internally endowed with an inbuilt system that avails citizens with an automatic power to punish or reward their benefactors or tormentors every four years. Politically, many causative factors bring down elected officials or traditional leaders from their seats or rob away their sceptres.

In a democratic setting, nothing so precarious leads to the downfall, even more, dangerous than powerful political opposition than the collective power of protest votes. Protest votes are votes cast by various aggrieved members among frustrated citizens dissatisfied with the incumbent government and determined to cast their votes to penalise the leaders they perceive as incompetent or self-serving. In the last US election, former president Donald Trump and his fanatics were made to understand the power of protest votes. Here in Nigeria, ex-president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan had his taste in 2015.

With less than a week left for the gubernatorial election, the Kano political thunderstorms have gathered. Kano has various groups of people that have grown dissatisfied and overly tired of the APC government under Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and his deputy, Malam Nasiru Gawuna. These aggrieved groups include students, Adaidaita-Sahu (tricyclists) riders, Kwari and Kofar Wambai markets traders, civil servants, and many others. These people consider voting for the current APC gubernatorial candidate and his deputy as a celebration and incentivisation of their unwanted act that led to the worst rerun election in the history of Kano polity.

That infamous rerun election has become a memory that still haunts us and deprives the Kano people of peace, especially with the daily sight of thugs taking over localities and the government seemingly unflustered. Therefore, the people seem to bear an implacable feeling of revenge towards the APC with their most potent weapon at the moment— PVC. This might be glad tidings for the NNPP and its boss, Dr Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, who fields the same gubernatorial candidate, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, alias Abba Gida-Gida.

Abba Gida-Gida won the previous election with an unbeatable lead before it was dramatically declared inconclusive, which eventually changed the course of his victory. The kinds of people who still feel shortchanged by the results of the rerun election have come from diverse social statuses among the good people of Kano.

First, the collective electorate versus the indelible scar of “Inconclusive”: Looking at his wide popularity and acceptance across the teeming population of the state, especially among the youth, nothing was surprising in Abba’s victory in the 2019 gubernatorial election. The electorate toiled and moiled hard all day from dawn to dusk to ensure their favourite candidate emerged victorious. But inadvertently, some unscrupulous thugs led by the current deputy governor, the APC gubernatorial candidate of the ruling party, Malam Nasiru Gawuna and his deputy gubernatorial candidate, Murtala Sule Garo, disrupted the whole scene, which led to the worst rerun in our living memories.

The drama leading to the rerun is an ignominious act that still haunts our psyche and traumatises our brains. That utter embarrassment has planted an undying seed of revenge in the hearts of the Kano people for the upcoming election, irrespective of who is fielded as the APC candidate. The rerun had exposed the deeply insatiable lust for power at all costs. What else can explain the action of someone who hired the services of vampiric thugs that were so thirty of the blood of innocent voters just to ensure the will of the majority was ruthlessly robbed with not an atom of compassion?

Today, such social, psychological and physical casualties of the sham called election are still alive, hale and hearty and fully ready for revenge. People living at Gama ward, in particular, and places affected by the consequences of the terrible rerun need no more explanation of the horrors they saw with their own eyes.

Second, the Kano APC government versus scholars: Kwankwaso’s government had sponsored some brilliant Kano indigenes who went abroad to study different courses for the good of the state and the nation to add more value and human resources for the good of the general public. Some of these students who could not finish their studies during Kwankwaso’s reign needed registration and upkeep allowance to continue their studies during the outgoing Ganduje’s reign. But for the sake of bitter politics, these students were wholly ostracised despite being Kano indigenes who were abroad to study and not for tourism. These people are now ready for the 11th March in the eleventh hour to take their revenge.

Third, the Kano APC-led government versus the Kano state Students at Higher Institutions: Kano state students studying at various institutions of learning across the country have already come to terms with the deafening silence of the Kano state government that no longer gives them their meagre annual scholarship which amounts to nothing but a token of concern and appreciation of their struggle to study and liberate themselves from the darkness of ignorance. From the onset, it began with a wicked issuance of useless award letters; then, it metamorphosed to sample payment before gradually morphing into total non-payment of the scholarship. Therefore, these students are neither blind nor deaf. However, their anger is reserved and will be vented on election day.

Fourth, during Kwankwaso’s and Shekarau’s eras, Kano indigenes who successfully studied bachelor’s of Law were sponsored to attend Law School. That gesture helped many Law graduates from poor economic backgrounds realise their dreams of being called to the bar. But for this humanitarian service rendered by these two governors, many of them I know of would not have been officially addressed as barristers or learned colleagues.

The exorbitant fee for Law School has already risen, leaving many Law graduates roaming the streets with their hope dashed. But based on what I see from the lawyer-cum-activist, Abba Hikima, popularly known as ‘Champion of the Downtrodden”, he pledges to lend his voice to the cause to take those people whose hopes were dashed by this APC-led government. Of course, it is not incumbent upon the government to do that, but it’s something very laudable that might help bridge the wide gap between the haves and the have-nots in the state.

In addition, this act places Kano students in an advantageous position ahead of many students who might not benefit from the same gesture in their states. For the war to save the potential barristers and the stranded Law graduates left in limbo due to their financial status, they will express their anger through their PVCs.

Auwal Umar wrote from Kano. He can be contacted via auwaluumar9@gmail.com.

By Isma’il Hashim Abubakar 

I was primarily not comfortable with the idea and bid of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, which the ruling party APC had issued to Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as its presidential candidate and running mate, respectively. I held this view for several reasons, some of which were equally articulated by various analysts, commentators and opinionists.  

Like many thousands of Nigerians, particularly Muslims, I also believed that the Muslim-Muslim ticket was a necessary deceptive winning strategy rather than an intrepid move toward the triumph of Islam in a pluralistic country that has been suffering from the demographic competition. In 2015 when Muhammadu Buhari became the flag-bearer of the APC, there were indications that Bola Tinubu (a major stakeholder in the political merger that culminated in the sweeping victories of the APC during the 2015 elections) had a strong zest to be picked by Buhari as the latter’s running mate. But the old general refused to do so, obviously to carry along the Christians and canvass their support and secure their votes; no farsighted politician would risk hurting the sensibilities of even a small number of voters, let alone a big population that once claimed to possess demographic supremacy in the country’s entire population. 

The Muslim-Muslim presidency was thought by the Christian population but, in fact, to many Muslims as well to be a permanent impossibility in Nigeria’s political arena. Christians, who are a Nigerian minority as it has been proven now beyond the cobwebs of doubt, had been regarding Muslim-Muslim presidency as a unique Muslim utopian vision and a fruitless attempt of flying a kite either to see how high it would go in the sky or to gauge the direction of the wind.

Thus, Nigerian Christians never hid their opposition to the development and spared no effort to fight the bid. Churches became platforms for homilies on Christian unity and mobilization of support and strong, formidable religious support and solidarity in favour of the Labour Party’s candidate, Peter Obi, the only  Christian who contested against three Muslims in the race for the highest political office in the land.

The defeat of Peter Obi, as portrayed in the milieu of Christians, was akin to the fall of the rising Christendom and the failure of the Christian cause in Nigeria. Therefore,  not minding the huge irrecoverable costs of putting their eggs in one basket, Christians unanimously gathered their voting strength on their own candidate and wholeheartedly threw their support to Peter Obi. Although, like their Christian counterparts, Muslims had also used religious infrastructure to mobilize support for Bola Ahmed Tinubu and framed casting votes for him as a “political Jihad”, it was understandably impractical since Muslim votes must be inevitably divided between the three other contenders, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso of the NNPP and Bola Ahmed of APC.

After all, many northerners were yet sceptical of Tinubu’s nationalism and cosmopolitanism, and he was certainly viewed as an ethnic champion and a pursuer of Yoruba’s agenda. Added to this, the fact that Tinubu’s wife (and an acclaimed pastor, for that matter) and the majority (if not all) of his children are said to be Christians, some northern Muslims felt that Tinubu’s victory should in some form be considered as the triumph of Christians. As such, Muslims believed that the influence of these important organs around Tinubu must be beyond imagination. 

In the runoff to the 2023 presidential election, the Muslim society in northern Nigeria, which, as always, largely relies on the homilies of the clerical establishment in the region, became extremely divided as to which of the three candidates Muslims should support. Scholars who were loyalists to northern governors, some of whom were/are among their political appointees, had preached in favour of Tinubu and showed his election as a necessity that Muslims must wholeheartedly work for. Other scholars, most of whom were independent and largely young scholars, openly campaigned for Atiku Abubakar and warned northerners against voting for someone outside their region. The majority of scholars, however, seemed to take a neutral position and advised that Muslims could vote for any of the three candidates since each of them is a Muslim.

Despite the respected Jos-based cleric Shaykh Jingir defied this order, it was the position popularized and voiced loudly by the outspoken Izala, the proto-Salafi group which in the past used to explicitly campaign for Buhari and make it a religious obligation upon all Muslims to vote for the old general. It appeared that the group decided this time not to openly side with any of the candidates since some people had been launching attacks on the group for asking them to vote for Buhari, but then the group failed to criticize Buhari’s leadership failure. It was even argued that Izala (whose top figures are friends and loyalists to some northern governors) was inwardly supporting Tinubu’s candidature, but it was afraid of the protest and condemnation of its followers and the larger Muslim public. Thus, it decided to exhibit outward neutrality. 

Whatever the case, the Muslim-Muslim ticket has, despite these binaries, scaled through and Muslims in the North had already accepted the development as a valid testimony of their numerical supremacy in the country. And here is why.

Out of 23377466, the total valid votes cast, 17275933 represent the voting strength of Muslims who divided their votes for the three Muslim candidates. No analysis of the results of this election can ignore the possibility of overlaps of votes between Muslims and Christians in favour of each of these three candidates. But since this was very minimal, the outcomes of the elections have solidly reflected the religious affiliation and sociopolitical orientation of the voting population. After all the mobilizations in churches and social media platforms, including the voluminous circulars disseminated to all chapels and chapters by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and sister bodies, the results of the election show that Peter Obi had merely scored 6101533, fewer than 27 per cent of the whole valid votes cast. 

Of course, a case cannot be made on fixed and exact statistics on Nigeria’s population through the results of polls, but some circumstances, like elections, are yet crucial in arriving at some useful hints.  A lot of factors have combined to contribute to the rapid increase of Muslims and give them a numerical edge over their counterparts.

The Muslims, who still retain the age-old culture of growing extended families, have a prevailing polygamous lifestyle and have not, to a large extent, assimilated to the western childbearing orientation. Research has shown that Muslim women have a higher fertility rate than non-Muslim women.100 According to the data of Nigeria‘s National Population Commission, as of 2008, birthrates per woman in the North West and the North East stood at 7.3 and 7.2, respectively, while in the South, it was less than 5 children per woman (available on https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/fr222/fr222.pdf).

Although democracy is a game of numbers and it depends on the principle of “the majority carries the votes”, Nigeria’s democracy has since 1999 been characterized by zoning and rotation between the two major regions and religions  (North and South and Islam and Christianity). And although many politicians have adopted zoning and rotation in the spirit of carrying everyone along, there are places where rotation based on faith is an impossible matter. For instance, Muslims in Gombe State account for about 75 per cent, yet the state has been electing a Muslim and Christian governor and deputy governor for over two decades.

In Kaduna State,  until 2019, when Governor Nasir El-Rufai chose a Muslim deputy governor, the state has been pairing a Muslim and Christian for these two powerful ranks. Other examples can be confidently cited, and it is Muslims who make the most concession. In states like Plateau and Benue, however, which although having a sizable population of Muslims ranging from 40 per cent to above in the case of the former and about 25 per cent in respect of the latter, no Muslim has ever been selected as deputy governor since the return of the present democratic dispensation in 1999. 

Politicians do not toy with the matter of votes irrespective of who the voter is, but the 2023 presidential election will go down in history as a solid testimony establishing the fact that Muslims can determine their political fate and can win the election of the highest political office in the land without the votes of the Christians. And going by the case study of Plateau and Benue states, one may be justified if he alleges that had it been that it was Christians who possessed similar numerical strength to Muslims, no one could guarantee that they would concede the position of vice president to the Muslims.

Whatever the case, it is now clear that propaganda and powerful and frequent presence in the media is not and can never be the practical elements with which to substantiate persistent claims of being half of Nigeria’s population. 

Despite the foregoing arguments, a question that may yet beg for an answer is, does the faith of a president necessarily ensure that his coreligionists enjoy the dividends of democracy better than those with whom he does not share his faith? No clear-cut answers can be supplied to this question. But the attitudes of some presidents since 1999, starting from Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’adu’a, Goodluck Jonathan and the outgoing Muhammadu Buhari, testify that some presidents may be too partial to members of their faith to the detriment of others. 

The Muslim-Muslim presidency may benefit Nigerian Muslims through the pleasure they will derive, which is inherent in sharing the same faith with the commander-in-chief and his deputy, but also in putting an end to the fact of their disputed majority. Meanwhile, it is likely that Christians, who will henceforth restrategize to launch further onslaughts on the presidency, and of course, consistently cry wolf where there may be none at all, will, in the long run, be the greatest beneficiaries of Tinubu’s leadership. The justification for this assertion is obvious; Christians recorded bigger gains from his two terms as a governor of Lagos State and perhaps even in the succeeding years.

And despite that it is now clear that there is a wide numerical margin between Muslims and Christians, this may not be radically reflected in the constitution of the presidential cabinet; out of the 40 (or thereabout) ministers that the new president will be appointing in the next few months, it will be hard if he will summon enough courage to appoint 11 Christian ministers which is the proportionate numerical representation of Christian population supplied to us by the 2023 presidential election.

During my childhood, I used to hear Muslims say that Saudi Arabia had a diplomatic policy of raising or lowering the flag of each country according to the faith of its president. I could remember vividly when after Muslims were tired of the Obasanjo administration and Umaru Musa Yarauda, the unfavourable candidate had defeated Buhari (the saint as of then) when some people, despite the dark outcomes of the election results, expressed delight and commented that at least Nigeria’s flag would be raised in Saudi Arabia after it had been dumped on the ground for about eight years. If this diplomatic principle in Saudi Arabia is true and still valid, Tinubu’s victory will now mean that Nigeria’s flag will at least spend twelve uninterrupted years flying in the Saudi sky, and only God knows when it may be lowered. 

In a different essay I penned more than a year ago. I argued that if the situation would warrant that Tinubu’s victory would only be guaranteed if he embraced Christianity, he might end up becoming a Christian just to realize his lifetime ambition. Based on the goings-on of the present political season and the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, it is also safe to argue that despite being admittedly a nominal Muslim as shown by his self-orchestrated  Fatiha recitational suicide, Tinubu had, by picking a Muslim as his running mate, audaciously accomplished what many Muslim politicians could never mull over not to talk of giving it a try.

Ismail wrote from Souss, Southern Morocco, and can be reached at ismailiiit18@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, have raised concerns over the alleged plot by Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje, to rig the incoming gubernatorial election and supplementary election in the state.

The Chairman of Kano NNPP, Umar Haruna Doguwa, made the disclosure in a press statement on Sunday.

Mr Doguwa appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, the International Community and the Security agencies to foil Ganduje’s plan.

He alleged that Ganduje’s interest goes beyond election rigging, but the total breakdown of law and order in the state is also among his evil machinations.

Part of the statement reads:

“The Kano State NNPP has noticed that some attempts are being made by unscrupulous elements in conjunction with some INEC officials to manipulate the collated results as we also noticed improper conduct by some INEC ad hoc staff. We, therefore, call on Presidency, security agencies, election observers, and the international community to beam their searchlight on INEC, especially on the concluded position to conduct supplementary election in the 15 affected polling units at Fagge. Any shift, either in a number of the polling units or continued cancellation of other polling units, will meet our stiff resistance.

“We are also aware that plans are being nursed and sponsored by the State government to cause a total break down of law and order in the state during the upcoming gubernatorial and state assembly elections. While we call on security agencies to take adequate measures on this, otherwise, we as a party and citizens of Kano State have the capacity to defend ourselves and our votes.”

By Dr Raji Bello

Nigerians are not known for their ability to figure out the long-term consequences of their actions. This is a major national handicap since some choices which produce short-term gain could lead to long-term pain. For instance, in 1999, the governor of Zamfara state introduced a new social order in the state in defiance of the authority of the Federal Government of Nigeria. The new order spread across the northern states along with a strong wave of triumphalism. 

In the years that followed, groups of non-state actors across the country learnt something from what happened in Zamfara – that a group of determined people within a defined geographical area could defy the Federal Government and impose their will without any consequences. Inspired by this knowledge, a new Islamic militant group soon appeared somewhere in Yobe state, which later grew into Boko Haram – and the rest is now history.

Militants in the Niger Delta, who were also observing developments in the North, concluded that the Federal Government was indeed weak and its authority could be challenged without consequences. An insurgency soon took firm roots in the area. Many years later, young herdsmen around the country and secessionists in the Southeast also decided that it was time to take on the government and Nigerian society. Over 20 years later, long after the triumph of 1999/2000 has faded, we are still living with the pain of the chain of developments that it had sparked.

Once again, there is palpable triumphalism in the land. Our newly-elected Muslim-Muslim presidency has elicited exuberance in the Muslim community and foreboding on the Christian side. Prominent Muslims are already lining up to claim ownership of the president-elect and his religious identity. The Muslims are glad that the apparent consolidated Christian vote for Mr Obi has failed to achieve its aim. Christians, on the other hand, see their voting preference as justified because of the sheer brazenness of the APC in coming up with a Muslim-Muslim ticket right at the end of the two terms of a Muslim president who was not even known for respecting diversity in his appointments.

The 2023 elections will mark the time when the religious cleavage in Nigeria deepened to dangerous levels. In fact, the frontlines of the religious battle have already shifted to some upcoming gubernatorial contests. In Taraba state, the CAN has allegedly circulated a statement alerting Christians in the state of the impending battle while Muslim clerics all over the North have united in charging Taraba Muslims for the solemn task ahead.

Also, in Nasarawa state, there is a fear that the Labour Party could repeat its earlier presidential election feat and elect a Christian governor for the state. Other states like Plateau, Gombe, Adamawa, Kaduna, Niger etc, may also witness more hardening of intercommunal attitudes going forward. 

There will be even more foreboding on the Christian side when the practical elements of the Muslim-Muslim presidency begin to manifest. For example, media coverage will show both the president and vice-president of Nigeria at Eid prayer grounds while only the SGF or senate president will be left to lead the celebrations of Christmas and Easter.

The other multiplier effects of this new paradigm can’t even be fully imagined now. I expect that in the fullness of time when all the predictable consequences are playing out, the few discerning ones among us will ask, was Bola Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket really worth it in the long run?

Raji Bello writes from Yola, Adamawa State.

By Usman Muhammad Salihu.

Nigeria as a country is bedevilled with so many challenges and problems ranging from insecurity to inflation which causes a high cost of living, and the recent introduction of a cashless policy aimed at boosting the economy of the country but somehow causing life more difficult, especially to the masses, among other contributing factors.

Insecurity, especially the issue of Boko Haram militants (in the North East and some parts of north-west and north Central), where almost on daily basis bomb blasts occurred, hundreds of people killed and taken thousands into captivity, among others, were the major factors that force many Nigerians to preach the gospel of change in the year 2015 which after the then general election produces the incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari.

As time went on, Muhammadu Buhari’s administration did quite an impressive performance in curtailing the menace of Boko Haram, but yet, the rising of another phenomenon which is banditry.

Bandit came as a result of the farmers-herders crisis, which later escalated to another phenomenon currently causing serious and harmful effects on our economic, political and social development.

These bandits were known to be riding into villages on motorcycles in order to loot, rape and kidnap the inhabitants of such villages as well as kill anyone who resisted.

 Kidnapping nowadays has become a very lucrative venture, especially in north-western Nigeria. Between 2011 when the problem started to 2022, Nigerians paid millions of naira to free family members, friends, and relatives and in most cases, village inhabitants have to forcefully made by these bandits to pay a certain amount to them in order for the inhabitants to stay in their villages and carry out their day-to-day activities.

Moreso, the issue of the educational sector revamping, the ASUU’s eight months strike is still afresh in the minds of fellow Nigerians, especially students. Without revamping this sector, the future of our youths is at stake. As the saying goes, to kill a nation is to deny it education.

On the economy of the state, is there any nation that exists without an economy? The administration to come must have to do the needful to avoid the policies that may cripple the country’s economic sector, and this can only be done through forming a committee of economic experts who will be advising the government and leading the economic development aspect of the country.

The judicial system has to be allowed to carry out its full function without hindrance or interference from the government. This will pave the way for the sector to maintain its full function and possibly speedy arraignments and passing judgements effectively, and aside from that, it helps the government in the fight against corruption.

To whom much is given, much is also expected.

The 2023 general election is one of a kind, where the issue of vote buying was drastically reduced to a minimal level. This is saying that Nigerians voted for the President-elect based on their expectations of him hence being ready to face the numerous problems of the citizens and find out their solutions.

We pray that the president-elect’s campaign slogan ‘RENEWED HOPE’ will indeed renew the already lost hope of Nigerians.

Usman Muhammad Salihu writes from Mass Communication Department, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi, Bauchi state. He can be reached via muhammadu5363@gmail.com.

By Sumayyah Auwal Ishaq

Activist and former Kaduna-Central lawmaker at the National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, has said that the era when President Buhari and the APC governor tell Nigerians who to vote for is over.  

Senator Sani said, “The era when the President or state governors tell people who to vote for is over. In Kaduna, we have shown that”. 

The former lawmaker reacted based on a video trending on social media. President Buhari appealed to residents of Kaduna State to vote for APC Gubernatorial candidate Senator Uba Sani and other candidates of the APC for the Kaduna State House of Assembly.

The appeal by President Buhari came following the humiliating defeat of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the presidential and National Assembly elections in Kaduna State.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmad Tinubu, has received the Certificate of Return as the President-elect of Nigeria.

On Wednesday, the certificate was presented to him by the Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Tinubu was accompanied by his beloved wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima and a retinue of governors and party chieftains.  

Tinubu had polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 6,984,520.

The Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, also collected his certificate of return alongside his principal.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, has cautioned political actors not to drag Nigeria into anarchy. 

On Tuesday, the apex Islamic organisation gave the warning in a press statement jointly signed by the organisation’s Secretary General, Prof Salisu Shehu and the Director of Administration, Arch Zubairu Haruna Usman-Ugwu. 

The NSCIA warned political actors to refrain from making unguarded and provocative utterances.

Part of the statement reads, “While reckless statements from inconsequential individuals can be easily ignored, this is not so of those from respected political leaders.”

“It is important that patriotic and well-meaning Nigerian leaders should support unrelenting adherence to process and procedure in the ongoing electoral process. This is because any inclination to unprocedural decision or action at this critical time is a direct call for anarchy which will not yield any positive outcome to the Nation.”

– NewsDesk

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the 2023 presidential election held on Saturday, 25th February 2023. Meanwhile, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) congratulated the President-Elect and wished him two successful terms.

MURIC’s congratulatory message was contained in a press statement signed by the Executive Director of the Islamic human rights organization, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Wednesday, 1^st March 2023.

The statement reads:

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the 2023 presidential election held on Saturday, 25^th February 2023. Tinubu polled a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 6,984,520 to emerge second. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) came third with 6,101,533 votes.

“First and foremost, we thank Almighty Allah for making Tinubu’s victory at the polls a fait accompli. Next, we congratulate the President-Elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu, for this great feat, and we wish him two successful terms in good health, bounteous national prosperity, peace and stability. Bola Tinubu is, indubitably, not only the most eminently qualified for the position but the best well-prepared for it. His victory is, therefore, well deserved.

“We urge the President-Elect to remain focused on rebuilding Nigeria as he rebuilt Lagos and to stay in character by inspiring religious tolerance the same way he had always tolerated all faiths. We have no scintilla of doubt that Tinubu, who has been married to a Christian pastor for the past 40 years and led a happy marital life, will successfully manage a multi-religious entity like Nigeria.

“At this juncture, we heartily congratulate the First Lady Elect, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for successfully nurturing a model macro home in a multi-religious microcosm called Nigeria.

“MURIC thanks the North for standing by Tinubu and for remaining faithful to their pledge. The Northern Region has proved to all and sundry that it is a region of honour and nobility. The strong statement that has been made with the trajectory of the presidential election is that the North is a reliable friend. The North has demonstrated the essence of Islam in terms of trustworthiness and fulfilment of promises. We are very grateful.

“We congratulate Yoruba Muslims for securing the presidency for the first time since independence. It is on record that three Yoruba Christians have occupied the post in the past. The victory of Tinubu, a moderate Yoruba Muslim, came as a fulfilment of the yearnings of Muslims in the region.

“We give kudos to INEC for doing a great and professional job. Professor Mahmood Yakubu will be remembered for his nonpartisanship. We call on Nigerians to support Tinubu’s government when it finally comes on board.

“We remind the opposition to accept the status quo because it is only Allah that picks leaders of men. Romans 13:1 says, ‘Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.’

“The Glorious Qur’an 3:26 also says, ‘Say Oh Allah, Lord of all dominions! You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take away dominion from whom You will, You exalt whom You will and abase whom You will. In Your Hand is all good. Surely You are All-Powerful.’

“We, therefore, charge the main opposition candidates to accept the wish of Allah, congratulate Tinubu and work together with the President-Elect in order to sustain the good work of President Muhammadu Buhari. This is not the time to dissipate resources on legal disputes. Nigeria needs peace and stability.  

“MURIC congratulates the Yoruba people for Tinubu’s victory. Two great sons of Yorubaland, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief M. K. O. Abiola tried it in vain, but today, another great son, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a bona fide Yoruba and the greatest political strategist in Nigeria, has won the presidency. It is an achievement worthy of celebration by this great ethnic nationality.

“We, therefore, call on all the Yoruba people, regardless of religion, ideology and political leaning to rally behind Tinubu and to transform his ‘emilokannism’ (it is my turn) to ‘awalokanism’ (it is our turn).”

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