El Rufai calls for separating religion from ethnicity to help heal Kaduna

Ayodele Johnson 22:39 - 17 January 2019

Nasir El Rufai is determined to win the governorship poll in Kaduna state despite a low support from Christians. [iReporter Online]

<strong>Picking the Catholic pope as his running-mate may not carry the necessary weight to help convince 67 per cent of the Christians in southern Kaduna, to vote for Nasir El Rufai in his plan to return as governor after the gubernatorial polls holds on March 2, 2019.</strong>

The state administrator thinks so in an interview with Channels TV on Thursday.

Since picking Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, a Muslim as his ally, the incumbent has received some criticisms. He went against a Muslim/Christian ticket arrangement that has been in existence in Kaduna forasmuch as the year 1992.

"The issue is this: Kaduna State is divided, it needs to be united. The way to begin to unite it is to take religion or ethnicity off the table.

"Since 1992, every deputy governor of Kaduna has been a Christian. What has it done for the state? Has it united the state? Has it assuaged the feelings of the Christian minority?

"My current deputy governor is a Christian and I didn’t pick him because he is Christian.

"I picked him because we were colleagues from university and I know him to be a brilliant, focused and just man. But, did that change anything?"

Despite the possibility of losing Christian votes in March, El Rufai remains confident of a win. The situation in Kaduna calls for a closer look according to the governor during the interview.

Keeping more violence away from the sensitive state is a shared interest but one that has been hard to achieve. In the year 2000, close to 5,000 residents were confirmed dead after Christians clashed with Muslims over the introduction of Sharia Law in the region.

The contention over the existence of Sharia Law in Kaduna unfortunately led to a lot of death based on religious conflict. [Punch Newspaper]

This happened under the watch of Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi who found himself in a fix after the crisis ended. His role in inviting Sharia Law into the state did not endear him to majority of the Christian population. A smaller Christian group however appreciated his efforts in ensuring that Kaduna is delivered from becoming a full Sharia state.

But for Nasir El Rufai, his decision to run with a Muslim-Muslim ticket has seen a lean support mostly.

"I want to assure you. One, I want to win this election so I am not going to take a foolish decision to make any point. I want to win the election for my party and the President.

"Those that are making the argument that I must have a Christian running mate have not been able to justify it, based on history.

“From 1992, we have had more violence in Kaduna than before. The presence of a Christian deputy did not change anything."