From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Ahead of the 2023 polls, an elder statesman and the Imam (Murshid) of the Abuja National Mosque, Professor Shehu Ahmad Saidu Galadanchi has cautioned politicians to desist from employing religion to divide Nigerians, saying it would not augur well for the country.
Galadanchi spoke at the National Inter-Religion conference organised by the Kano State Government in the state recently, observing that some politicians, from both Christianity and Islam, have already started exploiting religion to cause confusion and violence in their campaigns..
“Some of our politicians, unfortunately from the two religions, are using their religion to emphasize our differences and cause disagreements, violence and fight among Nigerians” he declared.
“This has already begun to happen during their campaigns in many places. Some of these politicians are determined to rig the coming elections by hook or by crook; they are determined to use all illegal methods in their campaigns, including religion, to achieve their goals.”
“Let me say that one would be standing on a highly dented ground if he used religion in this manner and at the expense of his own country” he affirmed.
“I find it pertinent, in a situation like this, to remind ourselves as Nigerians that Almighty Allah has graciously granted us, in this country, unlimited bounties. We have a very beautiful country. This is a very beautiful country, a very fertile country, full of natural and human resources,” he stated.
Galadanchi observed that all of these were granted to Nigeria so that its people would work together for its development and bring it to equal standing with the rest of the developed world.
He restated that the political class must be reeducated to recognize the fact that Islam and Christianity preach tolerance and peaceful coexistence among their people and among the members of the human community.