2023: Nigeria Is Not All About Ethnicity, Religion – Oshiomhole

The former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has said the country cannot be bogged down by issues of religion and ethnicity.

Oshiomhole stated this while reacting to the reactions that greeted the decision of the ruling party to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidential election.

In an interview with The Punch over the weekend, Oshiomhole said the issues confronting the nation are not about religion or ethnicity, saying these sentiments have not solved the various challenges facing the country.

The former Governor of Edo State pointed out that the country cannot continue to put the issue of religion and ethnicity before competence and expect different outcomes.

Oshiomhole added that it will require a man of courage to return Nigeria to its glory days, adding that balancing won’t help the country.

He said: “Nigeria is not all about Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian. The issues confronting us are not how many churches or mosques a Muslim-Muslim ticket will build.

“Unfortunately, that is not the issue we have on the ground, and people believe you can continue to do the same thing and expect different outcomes. We can’t be bogged down by issues of religion and ethnicity. Each time you do that, you compromise on something else.

“The finest hour of Nigerians as a people was when these issues didn’t matter and in the crisis we are in today, trying to do all kinds of balancing and only when it suits us.

“Today, it will require a man of courage to return Nigeria to the state it was in. We are a secular state and balancing won’t help us.”