2023: Shame on CAN leadership for abandoning spiritual responsibilities for partisan politics – NIMEGG

In a statement signed by NIMEGG spokesman in Abuja on Wednesday (13/07/2022), Mallam Abu Abdullah said, CAN as a religious body does not care about the potential danger their political propaganda and outright partisanship portends for their members, their mission, and Nigeria as a nation.

He said NIMEGG was forced to take CAN headlong after waiting endlessly on political leaders and traditional rulers to call them (CAN leadership) to order.

The statement said though, government has failed to call the attention of CAN to its irresponsible behaviour, NIMEGG can no longer fold its arm and allow CAN’s public display of partisanship, bias, sentiments and insensitivity over the presidential ticket of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima; to set the country on fire.

NIMEGG noted that the Christian leaders have thrown caution to the wind and therefore called on all men and groups of good conscience to call CAN to order.

“If the All Progressives Congress (APC) decides to strategise on how to win elections, what is the problem of an association like CAN that has become so mundane to the extent that it’s been working for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for a very long time? It is fascinating to note that it is now caught between working for the Labour Party (LP) and the PDP.

“Who does not know that the reality behind the APC Muslim-Muslim ticket is not borne out of religious consideration or sentiment, but a clear strategy to win the upcoming presidential election. CAN simply wants APC to lose. It’s scared of the APC winning formula?”

Abu Abdullah cautioned that CAN must realise Nigeria does not belong to it and its member alone, stressing that, it is duty-bound on organisations so as NIMEGG to tell CAN leadership the bitter truth and place them where they truly belong.

“Enough is enough. Is CAN saying his members are more in population? And are they saying they are more politically on ground? If Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Taraba (and Osun until the recently) where Muslims are in the majority can be governed by Christians without complaints, why is CAN dancing naked in the market square? It is because Muslims and their leaders only care for good governance unlike CAN leadership who are in the business of using the apparatus of State for their overt and covert religious proselytization.

Are they aware that Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Plateau states with significant Muslim population have repeatedly denied Muslims the Deputy Governorship positions?

“Let them be told that, it’s because Muslims are always very considerate, were we to behave like them, Muslims will continue to govern all the Muslim majority states with Muslim-Muslim tickets, and we will continue to win”.

Abu Abdullah observed that the leadership of CAN has been going too far. He noted that their intransigence started before the APC presidential primary, where they started calling on their followers not to support any Muslim aspirant.

He wondered why they kept had quiet when Tinubu initially chose Aminu Masari as his running mate; but, started the campaign of calumny immediately Senator Kashim Shettima was selected.

“Hell was let loose simply because they know Shettima is a popular and credible candidate. It only shows the level of hatred for Muslims and Islam.

“When Nuhu Ribadu chose Fola Adeola as his Presidential running mate in 2011, though they were both Muslims, there was no hue and cry because they knew the duo stood no chance in the presidential race.

“One good thing is that the whole world is watching their pedestrian partisanship, and everyone is keeping quiet; by the time the Muslims begin to fully counter them, they will start scampering helter skelter”

NIMEGG spokesman however expressed disappointment about the apologetic Muslims who are ignorantly and indirectly fighting against the interest of their faith.

Abu Abdullah urged CAN to realise they have no monopoly of noise making, stressing that NIMEGG is poised to counter CAN’s propaganda by sensitising the Nigeria Muslims to their civic responsibility, with a view to “put an end to this pettiness of CAN”.

He remarked that CAN and its legion of media warriors, including their foreign collaborators are used to tagging Muslims as fanatics even when it is clear that what they have been doing is the real fanaticism.

“Let them be told that such manipulative language of trying to label us falsely cannot weaken us any longer

“NIMEGG hereby declares CAN as the real scam! The same body that has denied Northern Christians the opportunity of producing its President since inception is now grumbling and wailing that a political party must pick a Northern Christian to be its Vice-Presidential candidate.

Is it the same Northern Christians that are not trustworthy enough to be CAN president or another another set of Christians? CAN is formed for political reasons and its leadership has working hard for mundane interests, instead of concentrating on its core mandate of spiritual responsibilities”, Abu Abdullah said.