Left for the majority of Nigerians, nobody is interested in the religion of a contestant or his running mate.

Nigerians have always been yearning for competent and capable hands that will confront the multi-dimensional problems bedeviling the country, and steer the country to progress and development.

In 1993 for instance, Nigerians voted massively for Chief MKO Abiola who was declared the winner of the annulled election.

But listening to some elders who actively participated in the election, they would proudly tell you how they came out in their numbers to cast their ballot for Chief Abiola and how he won the heart and support of Nigerians, before Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, IBB, later dashed their hopes by annulling it. They hated IBB for that, but always said good things about Chief Abiola and how he was going to lead Nigeria out of hardship caused by the military.

In all these, no single Nigerian asked questions about the religion of Chief MKO Abiola or that of his running mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe – whether they were of the same faith or whether one was Christian and the other Muslim, yet both of them were Muslims.

Not that Nigerians were ignorant of the fact that they were of the same faith; they were very much aware, but that was not their concern and neither was it their interest in them – their interest in them was that they believed that they were the ones that would give them quality leadership and lead them to the promised land. Nigerians loved them and believed in them.

But today, almost every Nigerian has become very sensitive to issues of religion and the religious inclinations of those who aspire to lead the country. Some extremist aspirants and supporters even use it as their campaign strategy and points of attack against those they see as opposition.

This is because some people championed it. Some people used their political offices to present their religion as superior to other religions, and went ahead to marginalise those who professed a different faith.

Before May 29, 2015 when the All Progressives Congress, APC, took over, Nigeria had been relatively peaceful even amid security challenges and there had been no issues about the religion of our major political actors.

Everybody had focused on their competence.

In Kaduna State for instance, it was almost a law that no Christian would ever become a governor there. Dr Patrick Yakowa was the only Christian governor in that state – he came to that seat when his principal Namadi Sambo was appointed Vice President by Dr Goodluck Jonathan, and being the deputy governor under Namadi Sambo he automatically succeeded him as governor.

But within some months of assuming that position he died in a plane crash. He was then succeeded by one Mr Yaro who had served under him as deputy governor. The regime of Mallam Nasir  El-Rufai must have felt that using a Christian as deputy governor was a threat to their stand that no Christian would be governor in Kaduna State, made it very clear to the public and even campaigned with it that only Muslim-Muslim ticket would win elections in the state.

And throughout the reign of El-Rufai, Christians in the state kept complaining that they were being unjustly marginalised and humiliated for no good reason. The governor himself was always talking and behaving as if he was at war with Christians in his state.

That was a time when Muhammadu Buhari was the president of the country. He was a core and principled Muslim, and maintained the balance with Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as the Vice President. He never supported Muslim-Muslim ticket even though, sadly, he turned a blind eye on the rantings and shenanigans of Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State.

Then came Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima on May 29, 2023. Even before Tinubu picked Shettima as his running mate, he had been singing it aloud that he was going to fly on Muslim-Muslim ticket. Tinubu and his supporters including Mallam Nasir El-Rufai never pushed it as a way forward for Nigeria, but rather as a slogan to curry the support of Muslim extremists and then humiliate the Christians in the country and insult their sensibilities. They never came up with any apologies about how Christians perceived it, rather they were busy beating their chest on how the ticket would continue to win elections in the country.

The protest voices of Christians and those of the opposition were drowned in their noise and mockery. By the way, they were already sure of victory with the assurance that the electoral and judicial systems in the country have been compromised.

Unfortunately, the victories achieved using same faith ticket has made the Nigerian leadership complacent and redundant. Instead of tackling the issues confronting the country they are rather riding on the wings of their religion and ethnicity using it to win the heart of their religious brothers and sisters especially the extremists amongst them, and using it to insult the sensibilities of people of other faiths in the country as if that is the sole aim of winning election in the country.

In the process they end up dividing the country along religious and ethnic lines, causing unnecessary religious and ethnic wars and bigotry. And while the masses kill one another on the streets and on the social media, they use the opportunity to do what they like in their respective offices – no accountability, no sense of responsibility towards the people.

Hunger is increasing, the cost of living is very high and our health and education sectors and infrastructure are in a deplorable state.

Religious and same faith tickets have never and can never put food on the table of any family or any individual. And the way the proponents of same faith ticket are going about it, it may end up destroying Nigeria.

The ticket spells doom for the country and is ready to destroy the relative peace that still hangs in the air. No good leader wants to destroy his own kingdom. Using religious tickets or religious slogans is a sign of desperation and nepotism, and it appears those sailing on it don’t know and don’t care about the consequences.

Nothing is wrong with any of the religions in Nigeria – all are means of worshipping the same God that is infinitely good. But when the faithful of any religion become intolerant or begin to exhibit supremacist attributes or use the name of their religion to attack fellow citizens, then there is problem. And that is what the government should correct, not to take advantage of the divisiveness to win elections or stay in power.

Nigerians wouldn’t have had issues with Muslim-Muslim ticket or any same faith ticket if not for how APC used it not just as campaign slogan but also as a threat to their opponents – imagine what happened in Kaduna State under Mallam El-Rufai and how the APC presidential hopefuls of 2023 championed it.

Again, Nigerians will never have issues with same faith ticket so long as the candidates involved are not using it as the template for success or as an achievement. So long as the candidates give Nigerians hope of good governance; so long as the candidates are viewed as competent by Nigerians and have what it takes to offer good governance, regardless of their religion, Nigerians will surely give them maximum support just the same way they gave to Chief Abiola and Ambassador Kingibe in the annulled June 12, 1993 Presidential poll.