The APC Muslim-Muslim Mindless Agenda: Propagating Status Quo -By Femi Amosun

In 2019, former President Olusegun Obasanjo revealed a grand plot by some elements to impose a Fulani and Islamic agenda on Nigeria, that is, the Fulanization and Islamization of a supposedly-secular State.

I grew up in a family unit whereby my maternal grandparents were Christians whilst my paternal grandparents were devoted Muslims. My father would later convert to Christianity, raised and nurtured his children in Christian ways and inculcated moral values in us. There was no religious conflict or disharmony within the extended family. My upbringing maybe typical of many fellow Nigerians who grew up in a stable family environment and relatively prosperous country when different faiths, denominations or traditional worship were allowed to the betterment of individual family units. Irorun igi ni irorun eye, literally translated into a harmonious tree is harmonious birds nest.

In 2015, Nigerians were deceived into believing that the All Progressive Congress (APC) will save Nigerians from the impending apocalyptic nature of the PDP. Both parties used Religion, Ethnicity, and Indigeneship to create division and terror, just like the former Colonial masters did, and rule with maximum force and impunity. The situation is compounded by politicians and religious leaders who have consciously used Religion as a parochial tool to sow the seeds of divisions and exacerbate ethno-religious intolerance in Nigeria. These so-called leaders ignored the fact that such move is violently dangerous for our national unity. After 7 years of misgovernance, Fulani herdsmen rampages, banditry, unprecedented level of corruption and corrupt practices, Nigerians are no longer impaired by lies, deceitful manoeuvres, and utter impunity.

You don’t have to reside abroad before keeping abreast of real progressive development in other countries of the World. The United States of America, United Kingdom, France and other developed countries are proud of their advanced societies. These countries enjoy peace and harmony because religion is separated from the State. Religion is considered as a private matter for individual citizens. Suffice to say that religion should not be weaponized to oppress, and suppress, the citizenry. It is not about personality and religion, it is about social norms and national interests.

Many enlightened and sensible Nigerians would’ve seen, observed and noticed that politicians, including Presidential, Senatorial, or Governorship aspirants, in the Western world would never attempt to “dance” during campaign rallies because such move may be interpreted as mental instability or some form of mental illness. In our own case, the electorates would enthusiastically dance and applaud politicians who in turn would work assiduously to loot and steal the money meant for improving their lives. The devastating consequences of such callousness are all over the place. Many of these politicians are now telling us that the best way forward is a Muslim-Muslim leadership in order to enjoy peace and balance. Let’s consciously remind ourselves that many Muslims have consistently been beneficiaries of other Muslims in this political trajectory. We know about a Special Assistant who became Speaker of the House of Representatives, of course orchestrated by his Muslim godfather. We also know about numerous political figures and their ascendancy to political office and relevance, courtesy of their Muslim brothers or father. Till recently the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Federal High Court were headed by Muslims. We also know that the Buhari-led government is predominately Muslims-Muslims. So any rational mind may question why our country is still in a depressive state despite a Muslim President since 2015. That is the bone of contention in this APC mindless Islamization agenda which centre around preposterous dominance and absolute power.

It is also alarming that a serving Minister, (and thank goodness, an outgoing Minister), would appear on Channels24 Television (Sunday 24 July, 2022) and had the temerity to insult Nigerians by explicitly stated that we should be having “intellectual conversation” and not “APC Muslim-Muslin ticket” conversation. The fundamental reason why we’re not having the so-called uncultivated “intellectual conversation” is because the government in which he is a leading figure has consistently failed to understand (or chosen to ignore) the basic premise of a civil society. An exhibition of intention is not an achievement.

Building roads or railways cannot be considered national achievements when hunger, insecurity, instability, and hopelessness gradually destroy our country. In fact, road and railway infrastructural projects are basic Citizens’ rights. May l counsel the minister that he should be more concerned about improving the lives of Nigerians (and not only his cronies or sycophants), and certainly not legacy projects. So it’s incredibly inconceivable that despite ginormous criticism of the Buhari-led government, and those enabling him, they’re indifferent, callously-calculative, and less concerned about the sufferings of Nigerians. They would rather spend billions on dubious “Subsidies”; they would rather embark on mindless road projects; they would rather share money among themselves; they would rather refuse to invest in education but comfortable with the prevalence shutting down of our tertiary institutions. So their mindless delinquencies and sheer impunity have metamorphosed into Muslim-Muslim Agenda, of course with highest level of arrogance and impunity. There is no country in the world where such advanced Impunity exists.

The APC Muslim-Muslim Agenda remind us of the great Titanic Ship that sailed from Southampton, England in April 1912. The Titanic had onboard, just like the APC or PDP party, profoundly arrogant and opportunistic individuals who treated other people they considered beneath them with disdain and contemptuous attitude, behaved like demigod and thought they can pull down the Moon by virtue of their intoxicated and confused minds. The Titanic was arrogantly described as “unsinkable” but it sank on 14th April 1912 when it hit the iceberg.

Femi Amosun is a Politico-economic commentator and observer with zeal for good governance, national development, and progress. femi.amosun@nifom.co.uk