IN NIGERIA'S POLITICS, RELIGION MATTERS

Ask my friend, Mohammed Basah , a muslim, to recite the Lord's prayer and I am certain he will do so without making mistakes.

Ask me to recite the Surah Al-Fatiha and I will recite correctly maybe missing a few lines now because it is in Arabic and had been a while since I recited the prayers.

The school Mohammed and I attended in the 80's was owned by the state government. Because many of us gathered in that school were from different religions, the school authority made sure both Muslim and Christian prayers were recited at the assembly ground every morning.

I am an adult now and a parent with kids in school. In most of the gatherings I have been, at my kid's school, association meeting and many others where we have a mix of people coming from the two religions, we always requested a muslim and a christian prayer. The reason was simple, to make everyone in the gathering feel welcome.

According to my friend, Earnest Ereke in Politics 101, "YOU ARE NOTHING WITHOUT POWER".

He said those words to me following my consistent frustration with the bad policies our departmental president at that time insisted on implementing despite warnings from several members of the association. Earnest would consistently say, "Except you become the President, a member of the executive or have a strong representation in the board of officials, most of the things you say may never be implemented?and you will not be able to do anything because you have no power".

Seated in the Senate and Federal House of Representatives are individuals from all thirty (36) states in Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory because It is important to have representation from every state in Nigeria since policies that affect all citizens are discussed during several organised seatings.

Whether we choose to accept it or not, religion will always be a part of our national politics in Nigeria and it will always matter.

In Nigeria, it will always matter because we have had conflicts that could be traced to religious intolerance and were able to resolve them because we had representations from the two (2) major religions brainstorming together to ensure that we coexist peacefully even as we profess our faiths and showcase our belief systems.

The APC Presidential candidate, Baba Tinubu in his choice of Alhaji Shettima two (2) muslim candidates, tries to cajole us by making us think that religion in politics is immaterial. He wants to make us believe that what matters more is credible leadership irrespective of the faiths they practice.?In my opinion, "RELIGION WILL ALWAYS MATTER IN OUR POLITICS'.

When an elder statesman with all the experience in politics tries to implement even what the military did not do, we must be wary of that kind of leadership and be careful in the kind of choices we make.

We are multi-religious society and a multi-ethnic society. Thus for our own good and growth as a country, we must do well to balance everything that unites us.

I will never vote a Christian-Christian ticket in Nigeria but in Rome, I will

I will never vote Igbo-igbo ticket in Nigeria but in Anambra, I will

I will never vote muslim-muslim ticket in Nigeria but in Iraq, I will

I will never vote Hausa-Hausa ticket in Nigeria but in Kano, I will

The Balance we have created for many years is one of the reasons, we haven't completely destroyed this country.

So, if someone meets you and tell you that religion doesn't matter in politics, consider it one of the most deceptive statements of the century in a multifaceted society.

Even Karl Marx whom I could now refer to as a Prophet said "Religion is an Opium of the Masses.

It is another reason why your vote must not be cast for APC. Choose your President in the Year 2023 wisely. Choose #PETEROBI.

Religion seems like a sacred ground we seldom trample on in Nigeria but we know it matter to touch on such sacred spots.

I come in Peace

Shalom