By Emma Emeozor
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has dismissed ex-Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai’s claims that the ruling party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket was aimed at silencing the Christian community and boosting the Islamization of Nigeria
El-Rufai had in a video trending on social media said that President Bola Tinubu’s victory at the presidential poll has silenced CAN. He also claimed that the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the Kaduna gubernatorial poll, which he initiated, would be sustained beyond 20 years in the state.
In the video, the former governor, who spoke in Hausa, also claimed that Muslim domination was being replicated at the national level.
However, Chairman of the Kaduna branch of CAN, Revd. Joseph Hayab said the former governor was seeking relevance and asked Nigerians to ignore him.
He described El-Rufai’s comments as ploy and divisive tendency to further his alleged presidential ambition. He also alleged that El-Rufai was trying to use his comment to trap President Tinubu as muslims in the country were not thinking along that line.
“So, we know that Kaduna Muslims know that El-Rufai is not speaking for them and we know Muslims won’t think along El-Rufai’s way. Someone who has eaten and become fat from our commonwealth should not because of his selfishness divide us and create unnecessary confusion, Nigeria must not take such a person seriously because if truth be told, he (El-Rufai) needs some checks at the psychiatric (hospital) so that we will be sure whether he is healthy.”
Hayab stated this as guest on Arise TV’s Morning Show, yesterday, saying El-Rufai was trying to set up Christians against Muslims and Christians against the Tinubu’s government.
“Unfortunately, I will say to him, he has failed from the onset. With this, he has actually proved to Nigerians that he is not, in the first place fit to be a leader, and I think that is one of the problems in Nigeria. We give people power without testing their emotional stability whether they are mentally all right to lead. Our simple response is that ignore the madman, ignore the man who is calling for attention, and ignore the man who is up to a gimmick and ignore the man who is up to an agenda, don’t even take him seriously. If his Muslim/Muslim ticket has actually succeeded, we wouldn’t have had the killings, the division, and the problems we have in Kaduna.”
Efforts to reach the former governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, for his reaction proved abortive as calls to his telephone line did not connect.
