By Dele Sobowale

“Man by nature is a political animal” – Aristotle, 343 BC.

From personal choice, I have stayed out of Nigerian politics. Only occasionally have I actively participated in the political process – Awolowo’s campaign in 1979, Buhari’s in 2011 and 2015 and the campaign for Christian Governor in Lagos State 2010-2015. 

Despite my strong inclination towards progressive, I was never a card-carrying member of any party. Getting into media in 1987/8 gave me the perfect excuse to remain non-partisan. I prided myself on being a neutral observer. Looking back in retrospect, I am not so sure that it was the best decision. 

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Increasingly, I find myself asking if those of us who out of principle or, because we believe that “politics is a dirty game”, stay out of it, have not inadvertently created the situation in the country which we are now condemning.

Except in the southern states – South-East and South-South – in which the people are almost all Christians, the South-West presents a totally different picture. Since Awolowo’s death and the Third Republic, politics in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Osun has been dominated by non-Christians. In 2010, I was forced to be the media arrowhead of a group – Christian Conscience, CC. CC was formed when reliable information reached us that four non-Christians were short-listed; out of which Governor Fashola’s successor would be selected. Until then, I had kept aloof from Lagos State politics. Then it struck me how Christians in Lagos State, including me, had left the politics to others to our own disadvantage. Here is a rundown of the history of elected Governors up to the time we acted.

??Lateef Jakande – 1979 to 1983 (51 months).

??Michael Otedola – 1992 to 1993 (9 months).

??Ahmed Tinubu – 1999 to 2007 (96 months).

??Raji Fashola – 2007 to 2010 (55 months).

Governor Jakande was not only a Muslim, his Deputy, Jafojo was also a Muslim. Fashola went on to complete his second term and clocked 96 months as well. Thus, by the end of 2015, Muslims had been elected to govern Lagos for    202 months, a Christian only nine months. And, the almighty of the so-called progressive party in Lagos, which is evenly divided between the two religions, still thought another Muslim should replace Fashola. Fashola himself felt the same way. He had a successor in mind.

Was it because there were no Christians in the party who could perform well? Definitely not. They were just like so many invisible men to the almighty of the party. In 2011, when one of my critics asked me if any Christian can do better than Fashola, I wrote in reply: What one man can do, another can do better. Only God cannot be surpassed. Thank God; Ambode and Sanwo-Olu have vindicated me with their performance. The nonsense that only those who worship in the same mosque are the only people fit to govern has been rubbished by subsequent events.

In the months leading to the 2015 General Elections, my colleagues and I, at CC, were like people with split personalities. We were campaigning for Christian Governor in Lagos. At the same time we were also campaigning for Buhari for President. Each time I found myself addressing leaders who could influence many others, the seeming contradiction had to be explained. We were not anti-Muslims; we just wanted a fair deal for Christians in Lagos State. My own family is evenly divided between Christians and Muslims; and my wife is the daughter of a late Chief Imam. So, there is no religious bias here; only a sense that there is need for more Christian participation in politics.

As we approach the 2023 General Elections, Christians in Nigeria in general and Lagos in particular will need to put on our thinking caps. We need to address the issue of trust; to determine who, Muslim or Christian, is really broad-minded enough to represent our interests. I can state categorically that in 2015 and 2019, we were deceived to vote for a Jihadist who was falsely presented to us as a reformed progressive. The terrorists menacing Nigerians in all the states provide solemn testimony to the lies sold to us;