Muslim - Muslim ticket

 Why is the Muslim-Muslim ticket flawed?

Tinubu and Massari

The choice of the vice presidential candidate for each presidential contender remains a hot topic as the political uncertainty before the general elections of 2016 grows. This is due to the fact that the presidency is the highest office in the land, and everyone is worried about and interested in who wins since it will have a significant impact on how the people and the country will develop in the future. Additionally, the deputy's intelligence, loyalty, and skill would greatly influence the success or failure of the would-be president's performance; therefore, this is not a laughing matter.

What has dominated public discourse over the past few weeks is almost religious in nature and should be taken into consideration when selecting presidential running mates. Who joins major candidates like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party as running mates is getting more and more exciting by the day. Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta State, has been chosen by Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president and presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party. This choice has caused controversy within the PDP.

There are many criteria that can be utilized to choose favored candidates, but the geopolitical paradigm appears to be more important than godfatherism, religion, or other factors that have held our country behind.

Therefore, the better for the polity if the geopolitical dimension is permitted to reign. In a highly pluralistic culture like ours, it is expected that a functional combination in the southern-northern configuration is preferable. In order for this balancing to be established, contenders like Tinubu (South-West) and Obi (South-East) need have running mates from the North-East, North-West, or North-Central geopolitical zones. According to this line of thinking, religion is the least important and local factor to be considered while choosing the best candidate. Whether you have Christian-Christian, Christian-Muslim, or Muslim-Muslim tickets doesn't really matter. What matters most is that the country benefits from democracy and sound governance under strong leadership.

Why all the hoopla over Obi picking his preferred Christian running mate from the North, Atiku or Kwankwaso choosing another Muslim from the South, or Tinubu choosing a Muslim from the North as his running mate? The unfortunate reality is that nothing seems to be working again in Nigeria right now, and the situation has gotten so bad. Security is nearly nonexistent, poverty is at an all-time high, unemployment is alarming, corruption kills people every day, industrial capacity utilization is at an all-time low, and people's purchasing power has almost completely collapsed beyond repair. These factors make current leadership necessary for the nation.

At this pivotal time in its history, our nation needs purposeful leadership, which will never materialize as long as we continue to support patronage based on ethnicity or religion, with little to no regard for the meritocracy. By the way, who says Tinubu or Atiku's campaigns can't succeed on a Muslim-Muslim ticket? Let's review the concerns of the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, and other interest organizations implying that a Muslim-Muslim ticket is prohibited before we continue this discussion. Can we or cannot we regard Tinubu as a detribalized Nigerian with a big heart and a high level of religious tolerance when examining the Tinubu example objectively? He has permitted his wife to pursue her religion even though he is a devout Muslim, which is educational.