True Import of Shettima’s Message By Mahmud Jega

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Clerics and social media activists who rushed to the social media and airwaves to “condemn” Vice President Kashim Shettima for “disparaging Muslims and Islam” should tarry awhile and take a very good look at the overall context of his statement. In all public discussion, context is important. If you grab the tail end or any part of a remark without its overall context, you are very likely to grossly misunderstand it.

The context of Shettima’s statement was election of a Senate President. Specifically, he was canvassing for support for his party, APC’s stance of zoning the position to the South South zone. Zoning is done for a very good reason, in order to achieve peace and stability in the country by generating a sense of belonging in all its parts. Every part of the country and every religious group has qualified people for the post. Qualified does not mean the overall best; how do we ever determine who is the best person for any political post in Nigeria? It is the person voters elect who is the best, practically speaking.

While we are looking for capable people, we are not necessarily looking for the overall best person for any post, because that is an elusive criterion. In any case there is a higher purpose in politics and governance, which is to achieve unity and stability in the country by creating a sense of belonging. So, when APC zoned Senate Presidency to South South, some people claimed that some Northern aspirants were better than Godswill Akpabio. Maybe they are, but the Vice President was making the point that given the overriding objective of achieving national peace in the current political situation, we must concede the post to a South South candidate even if you think there is a “better” Northern candidate.

We must keep the country united and stable, that is the overriding goal the Vice President was alluding to. He is not the first person to suffer attacks from his constituency for calling for sacrifice. You see, zoning is of exactly the same political and psychological import and consequence as federal character. Beneficiaries are very happy with it while those required to make sacrifice are not happy with it. In 1980 when President Shehu Shagari’s government was trying to implement the federal character principle newly enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, there was much hostility to it in the South, where it was seen as promoting unqualified Northerners over more qualified Southerners in school admissions and job placements.

At a seminar at National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru on federal character, many Southerners were angry when Professor Godwin Soglo defended it, saying the goal of preserving national peace and stability by creating a sense of belonging in all parts is the overriding national priority and every other thing is secondary to it. Exactly what Shettima meant; given the current situation with a President and Vice President of the Muslim faith, imagine what some people will say if Senate President, House Speaker and Chief Justice, in addition to President and Vice President, all happen to be of the Muslim faith. Ordinarily it shouldn’t have mattered, but in political psychology and perception it does, so we must avoid that.

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The current argument is academic because Akpabio, as a former commissioner, governor, senator and minister is as qualified as any candidate can be for the Senate Presidency. But even if you think you have a Northern aspirant more capable than Akpabio, we must stand him down and go for Akpabio, in the same manner that many a candidate for school admission is brushed aside for a student with much poorer grades because of federal character. The same thing happens with NDA admission, for example; a candidate less endowed than you could be selected above you because all states must be represented.

That was the bottom line of the Vice President’s message. No one should mischievously grab one small end of the speech and say that Shettima disparaged Islam or Muslims. All he said was, give the Senate President’s position to South South even if you think the Northern candidate is better, for reasons of national peace and cohesion. Exactly what Godwin Soglo said in 1980 and many Southerners took offence.