Osinbajo, Christian Leaders’ Silence on Muslim-Muslim Ticket 

By Dapo Arowolo

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has committed sacrilege by deciding to foist the Muslim-Muslim Ticket on a multi-religious and pluralistic society like Nigeria. One might wonder where such audacity is coming from if not from the strange silence from Nigeria’s  Christian leaders including the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) who have yet to  speak up against this atrocious aberration of the Muslim-Muslim ticket pulled by the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the presidential election. 

Several questions run through the minds of rational beings: What has changed in the last few months? Is it possible that we will all wake up one day to learn that Nigeria has been transformed into an Islamic Republic? Some say it’s impossible. Allow me to laugh for a moment. We know some people who argued over their ancestral graves that the APC will never run a same-faith ticket. It’s now happening while we’re fully awake!

Professor Wole Soyinka famously noted in his prison notes, THE MAN DIED, that silence is not always golden in the face of injustice. “The man dies in all who keeps silent in the face of tyranny,” wrote the Nobel Prize winner in Literature in 1986. My question for Professor Osinbajo is why he chose to remain silent in the face of the APC’s blatant acts of tyranny?

According to reports, Osinbajo had previously spoken out against the imposition of the Muslim-Muslim ticket. It is also believed that he was not yet Vice President at the time. But why is he now keeping quiet now that he is the country’s vice president? It’s difficult to make sense of this!

It is no longer news that most Nigerians have lost hope in the country’s foremost body, Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) for obvious reasons, the body has allegedly been accused of compromise, being politicized and somehow kept quiet.

Prominent pastors like E.A. Adeboye, Itua Ighodalo, David Oyedepo, Matthew Asimolowo, W.F. Kumuyi, etc have, surprisingly, decided to hide into their shells on this sacrilege of a ruling party!

This is a shame to say the least, cowardice has suddenly eaten deep into certain leaders who have followers looking up to them for direction and a safe environment.

A few Christian leaders, like Bishop Wale Oke the PFN National President Bishop has said the association will mobilise against the Muslim-Muslim ticket because “it is against the principles of fairness, balance, equity and justice.”

With few bold persons like Oke coming up, one hopes this Muslim-Muslim ticket issue will inspire people like Osinbajo who God put in a position of power and normally has been known to stand up for what is just.

Osinbajo failing to publicly address the issue and call a spade a spade begs the question whether posterity will be kind to all who have kept mute for personal and selfish reasons knowing the danger this aberration will cause now and in the nearest future. Are people selling their souls to worldly and earthly negotiations in order to remain in power? Or is there  another reason one can guess for the silence?

This will never happen in the Islamic religion, Osinbajo and our dear Christian leaders should be asked a question and the question is: if Christian-Christian ticket can ever see the light of the day in Nigeria?

The Islamic leaders are not cowards, they will not run for what they believe is injustice.

A regime where all political powers are in the hands of Muslims in Nigeria, where about half of the population is Christian, is a recipe for disaster, as it is now in Lebanon.

For those who don’t know, 61% of Lebanon’s population is Muslim, while 33.7% is Christian. Christians used to wield significant political power until the 1990s, when Islamists seized complete control of the country. Until now, the persecution of Christians in Lebanon has been unabated. If the APC gets its way on February 25, Lebanon will be a farce if the Church does nothing drastic.

To begin, Osinbajo must realise that history will not be kind to him if he is quiet now that he is in power, bringing back your past interventions would not suffice later, we are watching and you have not said anything against the Muslim Muslim ticket as the current Vice President of Nigeria.

Some analysts argue that Osinbajo will accept this because APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu allegedly appointed him Vice President in 2015. Does this imply that the vice president has agreed to become an APC stooge? Will prosperity then forgive the pastor for betraying millions of Nigerian Christians in their hour of need?

Let no one fool you faithful Christians, your spiritual Christian leaders failed you abysmally.

Osinbajo should keep in mind that Nigerians will call on him when the negative impacts of the Muslim Muslim ticket kicks in and causes massive religious divide, but he will not be in power by then. So, your excellency, do what you can do now and at least register your opinion on the role that fairness and equity plays in all of this injustice called the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

*Pastor Dapo Arowolo writes from Ondo state