Yakubu Dogara, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, has again spoken against the same faith ticket of Bola Tinubu, the Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC).
“In their convoluted posturing, they have placed state-building ahead of nation-building; a task never before achieved in history. And we need no seer to tell us that such endeavour is guaranteed to end in spectacular failure. No divided people have ever built any civilization,” Dogara stated this while addressing Christian leaders on ‘role of the church in nation building’ at the recent Meet the Church Summit held in Abuja.
He stated that an attempt to foist such ticket on Nigerians will undermine the reality of Nigeria being a multi ethnic and religious country.
“In a manner that negated the fundamentals of nation building, such as shared identity, values and visions, the APC adopted the same faith ticket in a country that has never attained nationhood,” he stated.
According to him, the church is not alone in condemning the same faith ticket of the APC.
“Other prominent Islamic clerics and Muslim leaders have also spoken in the same light. It is a good omen that both Christian and Muslim elites are not complacent over this matter.
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“To this end, it will be easy to generate the needed elite consensus that is key to nation-building. All nations are built by elite consensus while all countries that failed at nation-building were destroyed by elite complacency,” Dogara stated.
However, the former lawmaker urged the church to build networks consisting of people of all faiths, as the church alone cannot fight the battle against injustice.
“Granted that the Christians and Muslims will always disagree on some issues, there are, however, many things over which we are agreeable. It is enough to forge ahead with the task of nation-building based on those common issues we agree on,” he stated.
According to Dogara, the church’s role in nation building must align with the fight against oppression, and that such a decision will come at a cost. He stated further that the church can only be relevant in nation-building if it is united.
“We all know that Jesus Christ did not create nor is a member of any denomination. Jesus Christ is not even a Christian that is why you can’t blame him for some of the evils perpetrated in the name of Christianity.
“A Christian is someone who is Christ-like and Jesus Christ cannot be Christlike: he is simply the Christ. If unity is not important, why did Paul the Apostle charge us to; “Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace,” he stated.
