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Even Muslims are uncomfortable with same faith ticket, says Nicholas

Felix Nicholas, a US-based cleric, was the youngest presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), at its June primaries. In this interview with BIYI ADEGOROYE, Nicholas, who stepped down for Prof Yemi Osinbajo reminisced on the events and the plans for the 2023 elections

 

You entered into politics and went straight for the presidency. What informed that decision?

Thank you for this opportunity. There is no law that says you must start from the local government. That’s what people assume to feel is the way it’s supposed to be. But for me, the reason I came was to cause a change in the nation.

Like they say if a fish wants to go rotten, it starts from the head. And I also observed that maybe only governors can do so much the kind of change that I desire. If I don’t start from the top, where to really be fair, no matter what I do at those local levels, it would not be seen. That’s one of the reasons I aimed for the top.

But the motivation was, I’m not a politician. I’m a pastor, a businessman. I was literally driven into politics. You can say I was pushed into it because a black American assaulted a Nigerian in my presence, in America. I felt the pain heavily; it was that day I went to Facebook to announce I was coming to Nigeria to run for President and the team went on fire. So, my coming out to run is not something that was planned and put together by people’s structure. No, no, no. Just out of anger and frustration.

Was that why you stepped down for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who is also a pastor?

No, no, no. In 2019, I supported Atiku Abubakar. Three days before the election, even though I was on the ballot. I came out to endorse Atiku. Is Atiku a pastor? Is Atiku a Christian? At that time, I looked at the two major candidates. I felt he was better, if I could use that word. He was better than the current administration that we had and I felt he would do better, at least it would ease the pain that we’re currently in. So, I supported Atiku. My choice of who to endorse or step down for has  nothing to do with Christianity, because if it was, I shouldn’t have endorsed Atiku in 2019.

Your party is now in a quagmire of Muslim-Muslim ticket. What is your take on it especially as we move towards 2023?

From day one, I’ve been against it. On the day of the primary, I spoke against the Muslim- Muslim ticket. I don’t think there’s any Christian who wants it including some of our Muslim brothers, they don’t want it. They feel the nation is polarised. We have two major religions; Christianity and Islam.

According to the Nigerian Constitution, you have to be able to balance it. Having a Christian President and the Vice President is a Christian is also not something that we support. However, the party has decided, the candidate has decided. We don’t have the power to change it. So, it’s left for us now to know how to manoeuvre it. It is not something that we endorse, it’s not something that we are for but the choices have been made. We spoke in the process. We did everything we could to see if they could change their minds.

Some are of the view it’s an agenda to Islamise the country. Do you share this view?

No sane person now will want to Islamise or even Christianise Nigeria, when you have over 50 per cent of the population are Christians. I think it’s 50/50. Now even 51/ 49. I don’t know the exact percentage but a large number of the people are Christians, a large number are Muslims. It will be a mission impossible for you to even think about it, it means you want to raise an uproar that you cannot control. So, I do know that the issue is this majority or minority issue which I don’t know we have to fix.

Christians in the North are considered a minority. Muslims in the South are considered a minority and they feel you cannot have a minority Christian from the North. So, two minorities cannot be on the same ballot. The question I’m asking who made the Christian in the North minority? The last time I checked it’s the same Bible we read, it’s the same Jesus will call upon. The Muslims in the South read the same Quran, the same Prophet Muhammed they refer to. So, I think that’s where we have to fix the problem. I shouldn’t be in minority Christian because I’m from the North.

In the run up to 2023 elections, there is this clamour for generational shift, that people in their 70s should not run the elections. Among young people like you, there is the push for Peter Obi of the Labour Party. Are you going to support him?

I participated in a primary election. I’m not just a party member. I paid a huge amount of money and joined the primary election.

Yes, well I guess I spoke against old age, I’ve been in several interviews where I pushed for this not to happen but in democracy when the people decide. What do you do? The primary election took a process. It was aired live on TV, delegates chose their candidates We cannot just say because they didn’t choose who we want, we just move on. And just in few weeks later I just leave the party or because you’re younger.

Our business is not just about the age. Our business is not just about how long have you been in politics. There are a lot of factors that drive us in our decision. So, in as much as I’m against it but the party has decided.

But we can’t just leave the party immediately just because of his age. In the real sense Peter Obi is not that young in age anyway.

For the record, I’m not against Peter Obi’s movement. I encourage the youth movement and I said it everywhere that any youth out there who is active in any political platform I encourage them to continue.

I have friends who are supporting Atiku. We were all candidates in the 2019 election but some of them went to Atiku while some went to the Labour Party, some of us are with APC and we do encourage one another.

It’s a good idea for us to be everywhere so that at the end of the day we would know somebody is there as a youth. We are not against that movement, I encourage them to continue. Don’t let the fire die because after 2023 I see a new Nigeria since the youth are waking up.

Some of us at Eagle Square at the APC primary were surprised when you said you were stepping down for Osinbajo. Do you have any personal relationship with Osinbajo?

Of course, we have a relationship. My decision was not based on any relationship, as a matter of fact, I met him for the first time few days to the election. So, it wasn’t something that some people think, that because he is a pastor. That has nothing to do with that at the moment I just felt when I noticed we could not clinch the ticket because of the inability for us to raise funds to do the needful, I asked myself who is the best person for this job? Among all the aspirants, to me, he was the right person for the job.

Same way I felt Atiku was better. 2019 was just President Buhari and Atiku and I said who was the best person?

 

I was pushed to come to Buhari, some of my friends went there for several meetings but I said I’m not going. I met him one-on-one and our conversation went very well and I said I know very well that I won’t win this election.

Three of us met the VP at a meeting. We brought an issue to him, he asked me for my opinion and he went ahead with it. I was very shocked and I said this is a vice president and I’m meeting him for the first time.

 

You think I have something to offer, you asked me for a suggestion and it makes sense and you took it . I said if he becomes President that means the youth would have a lot to say and this man would listen to me. That was it for me.

 

 

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