PDP and Islamophobia

In a great political miscalculation, last week the spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Olisa Metuh in a statement accused the All Progressive Congress (APC) of planning to Islamise Nigeria, and called on, “all Nigerians to resist the antics of APC to Islamise the country.” But apparently in its desperation the PDP threw caution to the wind by hurting Muslims, as if there are no Muslims in PDP by portraying Islam as a ‘wicked, bad and something to be feared and hated.’

Politics is a game of persuasion whereby you try to bring even your opponents to your side, but by not making statements that will alienate not only your opponents farther, but also those in your camp.

In what seems to be a carefully choreographed event, a group, Religious Equity Promotion Council (REPC) and an Islamic cleric first accused the APC of championing an Islamic agenda in Nigeria just like the Egypt Muslim Brotherhood, explaining that that is why all the members of the Interim Executive Committee of the party are Muslims.

Secretary General, REPC’s Tanko Garba and the Muslim cleric, Ambassador Yusuf Garba, in different statements questioned the basis why almost all the members of the National Interim Executive Committee of APC and their presidential aspirants were mainly Muslims, “if not with the intention of Islamising Nigeria like the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt.”

Therefore, PDP hinged its accusation on these statements, especially when APC admonished it for the accusation.

“It is shocking that the APC would attempt to hoodwink Nigerians even in the face of incontrovertible facts exposing its religious inclinations and plots to divide the nation along religious lines,” it said.

The PDP insisted that contrary to the denials by the APC in its statement, “the revelations by an Islamic cleric, Ambassador Yusuf Garba and the Religious Equity Promotion Council (REPC) that APC seeks to impose an agenda like the Egypt Muslim Brotherhood remains a fact that cannot be brushed aside.”

So it was Muslims that made the accusation, not non Muslims so as to make it not look from an ‘outsider’, and to make it more believable.

However, these Muslims may have made these statements to suit their political agenda, but the fact that the PDP took it and made and based the same accusation made it worse for the party and for the peaceful co-existence of Nigerians of different religions and ethnic background.

The Muslim Right Concern in its statement over the weekend by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said PDP should call its spokesperson to order. “Religion is a very sensitive issue in this country and no political party should attempt to turn Islam into a pawn in its political chess game. We warn that any political party that attempts to drag the name of Islam into the murky waters of Nigerian politics will have the Muslims to contend with.”

By making the unguarded and provocative accusation, the PDP has shot itself in the leg. Some PDP members may vow not to have anything with the party again, because it is clearly anti-Islam and it wants to incite non Muslims against it, therefore what is the use of remaining in that party?

The PDP has actually succeeded in that as its anti-Islamic statement has elicited a lot of abuse against Muslims and Islam in comments and the social media.

I wish the PDP would gather its members in Kano and read Metuh’s statement and its Hausa translation!

Or better still, to make copies of the statement and distribute among its members, as the PDP headquarters’ stance on Islam.

The northwest has the highest voters in Nigeria with 18 million voters, and it is predominantly Muslim. So how does PDP hope to think it can make such a statement and not hurt this huge voting ‘bride’ that any political party would love to court?

Though somebody pointed out that since votes hardly count, they don’t really care. But any political party worth its salt would still want to be seen as being voted for from everywhere, not antagonise the voters.

Besides, has the PDP not heard of how PDP is now coated with the veneer of Islam, called ‘ PDP Islamiyya’ to make it acceptable to the Kano people? This ‘PDP Islamiyya’ is aligned to the former governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau.

We are waiting to hear the PDP’s reaction to that, since it apparently doesn’t want to have anything Islamic attached to its members, much less the party itself.

In any case, politicians should be sensitive and guard against making provocative statements, particularly on religion so as not to cause crisis in their desperation to score cheap points against their opponents.