Islamic Domination: El-Rufai Setting Trap For Tinubu’s Presidency — Kaduna CAN Chairman

The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State Chapter, Reverend Joseph Hayab, has condemned the immediate past governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, over his statement on the replication of Islamic dominance in Nigeria.

El-Rufai had in a trending video, told an audience that Islamic dominance in Kaduna had been successfully replicated in Nigeria and appeared to boast that it shall continue.

El-Rufai further said that the victory of Bola Tinubu had silenced the Christian Association of Nigeria, adding that he will sustain an Islamic-dominated government for 20 years and unending not only in Kaduna State but in Nigeria at large

Responding to the statement, the Kaduna CAN chairman berated El-Rufai for attempting to create a division between Muslims and Christians, adding that he was setting a trap for the present administration of Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who are both muslims.

Hayab, who appeared on Arise TV on Wednesday, described the former Kaduna governor as an opportunist who seeks to benefit from creating religious tension by projecting himself as a defender of the Muslim faith.

The CAN chairman noted that Christians and Muslims alike can see beyond El-Rufai’s divisive rhetorics

“We have overplayed this religion card, Buhari in all the three initial attempts he had to be president played all these games and it never worked for him until he went into alliance with other political parties before he eventually became president, El-Rufai is living that dream that he could play this religious game and possibly tomorrow become the president of Nigeria.

“It’s about whether people are angry or whether the statements are weighty, El-Rufai is just talking about himself. El-Rufai has no respect for Islam or Islamic clerics. He is doing everything for himself to get what he wants, it’s not about the religion, it’s not about the people. El-Rufai is also deliberately setting a trap for Bola Tinubu, because the moment these things become heated, people will go to Bola Tinubu, but we know the difference between El-Rufai and Bola Tinubu and others.

“CAN never announce that Christians should vote for Peter Obi. If Christian leaders had really asked Christians to vote for Christian candidates, the result of this election cannot be what it is now. But since he is up to something and playing a game, what he will do is confuse people, set up Christians against Muslims, set up Christians against the current government and then stand to benefit. He has proven to Nigerians that he is not fit to be a leader.

“CAN’s position is that people should ignore the madman, don’t take him seriously. I know Uba Sani would find a way of uniting the state. If the Muslim-muslim ticket of El-Rufai has actually succeeded we wouldn’t have the killings we had in Kaduna, we wouldn’t have the division and problems we had in Kaduna. We simply see El-Rufai as somebody whose era is over, but he simply wants to be relevant and bring up something for ignorant people to think he is defending the (muslim) faith.

“So we would not fight Muslims, we would not accuse Muslims because we know El-Rufai is not speaking for them. We want a united Nigeria where leaders will lead us as a people. So someone who has stolen from our commonwealth should not because of selfishness divide us and create unnecessary confusion. Nigerians must not take such a person serious,” he added.