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Muslim/Muslim ticket: Focus Should Be On Need For Good Governance – Obasa, Others

With the 2023 general election drawing close, the focus should be more on the need for better governance, not religious sentiments that include Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian tickets, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has tasked Nigerians.

Obasa gave the charge on Wednesday at the 14th Annual Hijrah Lecture organised by Lagos State House of Assembly.

His position was supported by guest speakers at the event including popular Islamic cleric and Chief Imam of Offa, Kwara State, Sheik Muyideen Salman Husayn; Hon. Justice Abdurraheem Ahmad Sayi, a Kadi of Sharia Court of Appeal, Kwara State; and Sheikh Ishaq Mustapha Zuglool Sunuusi, head of academics, Daru Dawah Wal Irshad Arabic Centre, Isolo.

According the Speaker, even though it has been argued that religion and politics are intertwined, it has been noted that religion has never been a determinant in the development of many countries that are currently doing great.

“All over the world where democracy is being practised, it has been established that good governance is not really determined by their religions. In countries like India, Singapore, China and most of the democratic states in Asia and some other parts of the world where neither Islam nor Christianity is being practised, it is gratifying to note that good governance is seen all around them.

“Even here in Africa before the advent of both Islam and Christianity, we had good and steady democratic setting with our traditional beliefs. It is now worrisome, however, that we allow religion to dictate to us how democracy should be practised,” Obasa said.

He argued that the spiritual core of democratic governance is the obligation to serve the people with godly principles and noble objectives.

“People should understand that whoever will be fair, just and is visionary, who can look back and identify good people to form a team with, in order to achieve success is someone who should be of concern to us in a democratic state to lead, not religion.

“There is no doubt that Nigeria is at a most precarious phase in its existence as a nation. These are indeed trying times for Nigeria and Nigerians. We should focus more on how the failure of politics and faith has compromised the unravelling of the Nigerian project.

“Therefore, at this time when Nigeria stands at its most critical juncture in history regarding next year general elections, there is a crucial call for religious bodies to deploy their collective spiritual energies in not only undermining the negative forces of nepotism and dysfunctionality, but in positively enhancing the development of Nigeria.

“Whether the political party contesting is running on Muslim-Muslim ticket or Christian-Christian ticket and otherwise, our focus should be the good intentions of the contestants. Let us not allow any politician to bamboozle us with religion as a determining factor for who we will choose as our leaders.

“In fact, as enshrined in the Constitution of Nigeria being a secular state, there is no provision for the elevation of a particular form of religion over another, let alone which one should be in charge of the government. Instead, what we have is freedom of religion,” he added.

On his part, Justice Sayi said Islam all humanity is one.

“The primary roles and responsibilities of religious leaders is to teach, guide, educate and emancipate the minds of premodial sentiments like tribalism, nepotism and the rest that affect the minds.

“Message of unity and humanity should take the lead of what should come out of religious houses, whether churches or mosques. Religious leaders should know that God has created us equally and they should also know that nobody has been created superior. The first most important responsibility of pastors and Imams is to lead the people to virtue,” he said.

In his own lecture, Sheikh Sunuusi, noted that Islam urges co-habitation and co-operation with others for the benefit of the society.

“Islam says we should not cheat any other person,” he said as he punctured the arguments of those against Muslim/Muslim ticket with how situations had sprung up Christian-Christian governments in the past.

Explaining the idea behind the topic, the chairman of 14th Hijrah lecture, Hon. Adams Noheem Babatunde, said it had become imperative for religious leaders to tread softly and preach unity.

“This is not the time for teachings that would polarise us. We expect people of influence to always emphasise peace and unity at all times,” he said.

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Insecurity: Lagos Speaker Advocates True Federalism, Implementation of Panel Reports

* Says Lagos Government Proactive On Issues Of Security
* Suggests State, Community Policing Systems

The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, has described Nigeria as a country that desires true federalism as part of the solutions to the nation’s security crisis.

Dr. Obasa stated this on Wednesday at the 2022 National Congress and Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Psychological Association held at the Lagos State University.

The Speaker, who was awarded Honourary Fellow of the academic body, lamented that insecurity had continued despite the federal government’s deployment of financial and other resources to its fight.

He also urged the federal government muster the political will to implement the recommendations of different panels and committees that have investigated immediate and remote causes of insecurity in the country.

Represented by Hon. Victor Akande, chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions and LASIEC, Obasa further advocated for sincere national mediation, negotiation, arbitration, reconciliation, and broad amnesty as modern conflict resolution strategies where necessary.

Speaking on the topic, ‘Security and National Sustainability’, Obasa described Lagos as one of the safest states in the country owing to the proactive efforts of all the tiers of government in the state.

“Here in Lagos State, we’ve taken preventive steps to ensure that law and order do not collapse for no good reason. We established the Neighbourhood Safety Corps because we are aware of the critical need for quick response from local security officers at the grassroots level.

“The state government’s efforts, led by the Neighbourhood Safety Corps and aided by the other security officers on the ground, have made Lagos a secure place to live for everyone.

“There is, however, reason to believe that the federal government would support the same objective by establishing a state police force. Community preventative policing, as opposed to curative policing, is crucial for maintaining national security in light of the current state of affairs. Constant contact between the security agencies and community people is necessary to get the country out of its current situation.

“At the same time, all three tiers of government should work to significantly cut spending on administration, which includes things like defence and domestic security. As one might expect, this is crucial if we want to see progress in the real sectors of the economy,” Obasa said.

The Speaker, while noting that military action and confrontational approach tend to increase violence rather than decrease tension, added: “to rehabilitate all militants who embrace reconciliation, however, we need to place a greater emphasis on the concepts of mediation, negotiation, arbitration, reconciliation, and broad amnesty as modern conflict resolution strategies.

“The principle of true federalism advocated by militants in the Niger Delta and other groups should be adopted because it guarantees genuine political autonomy and the right to control resources.

“In a similar vein, the federal government and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s violent sociopolitical and ethnically based crisis need to muster the political will to carry out the recommendations of the numerous panels and committees set up to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the crisis.”

He attributed insecurity to a number of factors including the country’s inheritance of a faulty security structure and the failure of successive governments to effectively restructure the system.

Beyond impacting knowledge, the Speaker tasked tertiary institutions to be interested in the affairs of the nation as part of their contributions to the sustenance of national progress.

He commended the NPA and LASU for honouring him as he promised to continue to play roles for the advancement of Nigeria.

Earlier in his address, Prof. Olukayode Afolabi, President of NPA, lamented the security situation of the country saying it now affects every facet of Nigeria’s development and forcing investors away.

Among other suggestions, he said there was an urgent need to bring psychologists into the recruitment and development processes of security personnel.

On her part, Prof Adenike Boyo, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) of LASU who represented the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, expressed hope that the 5-day conference would add value to Nigeria’s development.