Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has said that Nigeria requires an experienced politician as President in 2023 and not a novice.
The Kaduna-based scholar and former Army captain said the candidates of the two main political parties – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC); and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party – have the requisite political and administrative experiences to lead the country.
While speaking from his Kaduna residence on the forthcoming general elections and the state of the nation, the Islamic cleric said the former Tinubu is a good administrator who can do well for Nigeria.
He added however that the APC Muslim-Muslim ticket is a political gimmick to secure votes.
“Let me use Hausa language; it is wayo and not a religious move. Whether it will work or not, I don’t want to prophesise, but there are a lot of hurdles. In fact, all political parties have hurdles. Muslim-Muslim ticket is going to be a laboratory test for others to emulate or not”.
On Atiku, Gumi said there was nothing wrong with him contesting for many times to win power.
“Nigeria needs an experienced politician. We don’t need a novice to be President. The situation in Nigeria today needs an experienced politician to solve it”, he said.
Gumi noted that it took President Muhammadu Buhari over six months to appoint Ministers and government officials because he was an inexperienced politician.
“Nigeria is now in the 21st century. People are more educated now. What Nigeria needs now are people with competency. We should not be talking about North because North is no longer monolithic. We should not be talking about Southwest because no particular person is in control. We should not be talking about South East; look at how Senator Ifeanyi Uba was attacked by his own people.
“So let’s talk about Nigeria as one united people. Nobody controls anybody in the country. So let’s move forward. Look at America, nobody is talking about power rotation. Let’s develop democracy that we can sustain”, he said.
Source: The Nation
