Pastor and occasional politician, Christ Okotie, remains unagitated about whether a party features a candidate and running mate of the same religion in this dispensation.
The idea often refers to Muslim-Muslim ticket, describing the possible option of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Many Christians, including clerics, have rejected this in strong terms.
But Okotie says rejecting or supporting it should be based on people’s choices during the election.
Okotie, who has been a presidential candidate on a number of occasions, although he does not follow up after elections, is quoted by ‘The Punch’ as saying:
“The political process is democratic and if it is so, the people will decide, except it is not (democratic). So, whatever any political party is projecting in terms of its candidates, the people would have to decide if that is acceptable to them or not. That is what democracy is all about. You won’t compel them to vote for a person they don’t want to. I don’t think it’s an issue. Let the people decide what they want. That is what the democratic process is all about.
“I agree that pecuniary inducement is there, but at the end of the day, democracy is assent. That is why I am saying we need an interim national government because this presidential system is faulty with these abnormalities and aberrations.
“But there is nothing you can do about it as long as you are operating this system. That is why I keep coming back to the subject of changing the system so that the impunity of vote-buying can be addressed. Once we change that system, such things will be impossible. So, whether it is Christian-Christian or Muslim-Muslim, whatever it is, as far as I’m concerned, the system is faulty.
He added, “All I can tell you is that Christians should be more committed to our nation than they are today, because the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. He gave the earth to Adam, His only son. If we say we care about people and we want to preach salvation to them, then we must care about how they are governed and I think that is our reasonable service.”
