The All Progressives Congress (APC), has managed to hold its National Convention thanks to the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari who was able to get some party members, particularly those vying for the party's chairmanship seat, to sacrifice their ambitions so the party could survive.
At the end of the day, the APC settled for a consensus candidate handpicked by Buhari himself, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, under unknown conditions, which hopefully, won't end up becoming a bone of contention in years to come, much like the so called secret deal between Buhari and Tinubu prior to the 2015 presidential election.
The issue however, is that while Buhari was able to get the party to settle for a consensus National Chairman, would he yield to calls requesting that the party's National Leader , Bola Tinubu, be made the party’s consensus candidate for the 2023 presidential election, considering Buhari himself was the beneficiary of same gesture back in 2014?
While who becomes the APC Party Chairman is quite important, it is by no means as important as who eventually emerges as the party's presidential flag bearer in the coming election, especially when party bigwigs like Tinubu are in the race, with Tinubu in particular, believed to use his monetary power, to garner support from across the country, even from a religious group like MURIC.
Meanwhile, in an apparent show of support for Tinubu and by large, Muslim presidential candidates in the country, MURIC in a recent statement, took aim at vice-president Yemi Osinbajo, warning that any political party that picks any member of the Redeemed Church of Christ Group (RCCG), will be at war with Islam.
Although he is yet to formerly declare his intention to run for the presidency, posters of the vice president however, has flooded parts of the country, with support groups already in full force. All these and more, are clear indications that Osinbajo will most likely join the race.
To MURIC however, an Osinbajo presidency, considering his link to the RCCG which some weeks ago created a directorate for politics and governance across the country, is a potential threat to Islam.
Speaking in a statement signed by Idrees Safiyanu Gambo, Chairman, Bauchi State Chapter, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), it says the RCCG plans to eliminate other religions or turn their faithful into political slaves, adding that any Muslim who queues behind a redeemer is now considered a traitor to the cause of Islam.
”The rest of us have no option but to challenge this existential threat.
”We must work towards our survival before the RCCG tsunami threat sweeps Islam and other Christian denominations out of existence.
“The ugly experience of our Muslim brothers in Yorubaland where they are persecuted politically and marginalised economically despite their superior numerical strength is enough for us to know what is likely to happen if members of the RCCG take over the reins of power either in Aso Rock or in any state in the manner they are going about it at the moment. We in the North have been watching this ugly development with keen interest.
“In fact, it is unimaginable to expect the emergence of RCCG candidates as winners in the Northern States and we will ensure that this does not happen now or any time in the future. We are not unaware of the ‘winner-takes-all’ mentality of the RCCG but Northern Muslims will never expose their land to such obnoxious cultural invasion, as what we want is a society where everyone is treated equally.
“The RCCG declaration of a directorate of political affairs was met with great annoyance by us in the North and it has destroyed any goodwill Christian politicians enjoy here in the North. It is so bad that any Muslim who queues behind a redeemer is now considered a traitor to the cause of Islam and this is not what we want at this critical point in our nation. ”
“While our interest lies in credible candidates who are most likely to benefit their states or the country as a whole we frown upon attempts by the RCCG to turn the whole country into Redeemers territory. It had better not be. The RCCG plot is dangerous, provocative and contemptuous. Our warning to all political parties is: pick redeemer candidate, kiss Aso Rock goodbye.” he added.
This surely would be good news for Tinubu who obviously sees Osinbajo as a potential threat to his ambition. A threat from MURIC however, is unlikely to mean much to Osinbajo should he eventually declare his intention.