PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday night, in Abuja, informed the Catholic
bishops that he is not a religious fanatic as being bandied in some
quarters.
Buhari spoke during his interactive session with the Catholic bishops under the aegis of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), at the Pope John Paul II Catholic Centre in Wuse 2, Abuja, where he noted that “I would like to solemnly declare that in spite of what our detractors say, I am not a religious fanatic of any sort and I have never been.”
Speaking further, he said “all my life, I have never supported extremism of any kind and no where in my record of service to this nation can this false toga, political opponents have tried so hard to put on me be substantiated. Indeed, it is very unfortunate and I feel extremely sad that I have to give this type of assurance.
“My background is in the army and there is no doubt that the military is the most integrated pan-Nigerian institution. And even today, the military is one of the institutions that represent the pride of our nation’s possibilities in unity. Compatriots from every corner of this country come together, work and live together, entrust their lives to each other and integrate their families.
“It is a military where many of my dearest friends, from all faiths and parts of the country lost their lives defending the unity of our nation. That was the military I served in and in that military, it was impossible to be a bigot.
“For me, the issue of religion was, and should always, be a matter of personal conviction. This personal conviction approach to religion has defined my work and interactions all my life, including my tenure in office as military Head of State. The religion of all those I worked with was never a factor in their progress or in what happened to them. All that mattered then and should still matter today are competence, integrity and readiness to be fair to all.
“I was recently informed that we had a balanced cabinet, with key positions such as Finance, Energy and Defence occupied by Christians. In addition, 11 of the 19 governors I appointed were Christians. My most memorable recollections of subordinate service was under Christian bosses, the finest our country had then, and among the most respected today. Indeed, one of the best appraisals I received in the course of my military career was from General T.Y Danjuma.
“Government has no business preferring one religion to the other. The role of government is to protect lives and properties of citizens; respect and protect their constitutional rights. One critical freedom that every government must strive to protect is the liberty for citizens to exercise their respective faiths, Christianity, Islam or others, in a lawful manner without fear or hindrance and not to prosecute those who use religion as an excuse to destroy homes, schools and places of worship.
“Let me state this categorically, that I, Muhammadu Buhari, as an individual and as president of this great country by the grace of God, given the opportunity to serve, have no personal religious agenda. And I will not entertain, consider or promote the religious agenda of anyone.
“I will not condone any initiative that seeks to promote one religion over the other. Neither I, nor my party, or any member of my team has any desire or plan to Islamise, Christianise Nigeria or support anyone with such intention.
“Although I am a practising Muslim and I have been all my life, I have never belonged to or shared the views of any extremist group. I am not even a cleric. I believe that religion is personal and private. Many of the people close to me are not of my religion.
“Our constitution, which in many respect, is similar to the American Constitution, which does not permit a state religion. The Sharia identified in the constitution is almost synonymous with customary law. It is only applicable in matters of personal status, such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. This has been the case since the 1979 Constitution. Just as no one can make any customary or any other religious law the law of Nigeria, so Sharia cannot, therefore, be the law of Nigeria.”
credit: Nigeria tribune
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