By Shuaibu Ibn Ahmad
The Gubernatorial Candidate of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna State, Hon Isa Ashiru Kudan, has challenged candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Uba Sani, and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi to a debate on Islam.
Request for the debate was communicated via a letter to the Muslims’ Apex religious body in the country, Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Signed by the Assistant Director of Public Affairs of the Party in the state, Alhaji Yakubu Lere Sa’eed, on behalf of both the PDP and their Gubernatorial Candidate.
The PDP said request for the debate is prompted by publics’ growing concerns on the undemocratic and dangerous plots by the APC to wrongly introduce and sustain the use of religious sentiment in the election, a strategy the PDP opines that has the Potentials of further polarizing the already badly divided state.
The letter said, “it has come to our knowledge that the El-Rufai-led Government has allegedly recruited some Muslim Clerics and Imams in the state to deliver sermons today (Friday) on the imperative of voting the APC for fielding Muslim-Muslim candidates, and to call on Muslims to reject the PDP whose candidate picked a christian running mate.
The letter told the JNI that, “As custodians of the Islamic faith, you are supposed to invite the trio of Isa Ashiru, Uba Sani and Suleiman Hunkuyi to interview them to know who amongst them has the moral values and real knowledge of Islam needed to lead the people, fairly, justly and with equity, as enjoined and emphasized by Islam”.
Commenting on the implications of using religion by politicians, majority of whom are stark illeterates on religious matters, to win votes of ignorant faithfuls, a University Don with Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Professor Muhammad Abubakar decried the development saying it is unfortunate that the executioners of the highly divisive and unprecedented trend are Muslim scholars.
The University Don said, “true and learned men of God are supposed to be in the forefront of uniting the people and preaching justice and fairness as taught by the holy Prophet of Islam (SAWA), and as stipulated by the Almighty Allah Himself in many verses of the Holy Quran.
“But, unfortunately, most of our Clerics in both Islam and Christianity have, because of greed and unnecessary sentiments, become agents of doom, thereby compromising their divine responsibilities and status by being tools of greedy, selfish and ignorant politicians whose interest is to manipulate religious adherents, divide and rule them for their selfish aggrandizement”, Professor Abubakar lamented.