A case of falling into the trap of drafting a lengthy summary and conclusion before an abstract in an academic article. This opinion on a same faith-based presidential ticket by Mr Dele Alake, as well conceived as it is, does not put the present Nigerian experience into perceptive construction. Some of us would like to reply that time changes and that it is important to be aware of the time. For the purpose of clarification, it should be noted that the new wave of religious fanaticism and fundamentalism that is sweeping the country today was not as prevalent in the past. But now since killing people in the name of God is widely practiced, permitted, and justified in religion and explained away in politics, we need to ask ourselves if the times are still the same. This question is especially important when multiple tribal and religious factions are vying for control of other people's ancestral lands and some influential people are turning a blind eye out of religious affiliation. Explaining away a radical religious movement's performance, its effects on the Goodluck Jonathan administration, and incorporating later cases of Fulani herders and banditry from the current administration is ugly. And some of us don't like ugly.
For uttering lies, some people receive compensation. If we do not get the politics right in 2023, holding up the cards of religious beliefs or tribal politics will not be of any help to us. A typical Nigerian is likely to link a particular category of identification or recurring themes with a same faith-based presidential ticket as constructed in his surroundings, and no political analyst is required to analyze the causes of the suspicions. To anyone who can deep-think, anyone with the capacity for serious thought, to borrow the metaphor used by David Mackay and Joseph Simo,"it is like putting an atheist into a monastery and expecting him to adapt his behaviour immediately and do well as a monk." Beyond religion, voters should take each candidate's past and religious impressions into account, as well as the diversity of Nigerian's socio-cultural systems and scenarios. They might not matter in the long term. Taking into account the candidates' religious sentiments during their unguarded hours, which was neglected and we are paying for in the case of the current administration, not exactly religion, should not be explained away in the name of politics, tribal affiliation, or abstract academic paper. This is a time when everything should be under a magnifying glass.
-Shola Balogun
dailytrust.com