FOR those who keenly observed the formative process of the All Progressive Congress,APC about two years ago; courtesy of President Goodluck Jonathan’s liberalised democratic posture and his godly creation of Professor Attahiru Jega Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, the truth of where the APC would take Nigeria to was not lost on them.

This class of keen observers were not equally misled to believing that Major General Muhammadu Buhari, suspected of emerging as the flag bearer of the party then, was the messiah Nigeria was waiting for. To this group, it was obvious that the foundation of the APC; designed along religious terrain, was dangerous enough to sustain an equitable Nigeria.

Again, this class of observers looked at the names and religious background of those nominated for interim leadership of the APC, at the time of registration with the INEC, and recognised the anomaly that the formation was made up of about eighty per cent Muslims to twenty per cent Christians.  Having won the general elections and been inaugurated as a government on 29th May, 2015, the fear of these keen observers about APC’s antics of non-respect for balancing of religious factor in appointment of Public officers in the Nigerian system has become “acceptable classroom handbook”. In the same way geographical respect between the North and the South in placement of appointments within the same Nigerian Federation has also become a very great casualty. These good norms that hitherto held a “diversified country in unity”are already thrown to the dogs, either at the Presidency or even at the Nigerian Peoples’ Parliament – the National Assembly.

What does this portray for this great country? Wait a moment please. Do we really need some spiritual  soothsayers or ball gazers to tell us where we shall be heading to if we continue with this “what can they do” or “let the heaven fall if it wants to fall” attitude? While still on the fear of what this political nonchalant attitude of the APC and its presidency might cost Nigeria in the long-run, permit me to reflect on the wise saying of two of the founding fathers of the enterprise called Nigeria – Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Sir Ahmadu Bello, both of blessed memory. While the great Zik of Africa advised that “we should forget our difference [in Nigeria] and forge ahead” when the foundation of this great country was being laid among the founding fathers in one of their meetings, the great Sultan of Sokoto disagreed wisely with Azikiwe by positing instead, “let us understand our differences so that we will be able to know how to live together.” Huh! What words of wisdom, engraved on stones, shall these ever remain?

We have been able to come this far as one country because of the simple fact of understanding our differences, which spread across cultural heritage, imbalance in educational pursuant [in the beginning], political development, religious differences and many other anomalies, into the acceptance of turning these diversities to the strength of bearing each other [North and South] frailties in accordance to the wisdom of Sir Ahmadu Bello.

Part of this wisdom is the recognition that a Northern President in Nigeria attracts automatically a Southern Vice-President and verse-visa. In the same wisdom, if one [either North or South] is a Christian, the other must be Muslim. This golden wisdom, inherited from one of the founding fathers, adequately explained above, had only been jettisoned twice in the history of governance in Nigeria. In fact, it is once since the second one came moribund at birth so it did not live and both were military concoctions.

The first being when this same Muhammadu Buhari, then a serving Major General of the Nigerian Army abandoned his constitutional military duty to over-throw a democratically elected government of Shehu Shagari on December 31st 1983. He did not only breach the Nigerian constitution; which he ought to be charged for treason and executed, if the coup had failed, just like his unlucky sojourners in the likes of Major Generals IB Bissala, Mamman Vatsa [a very brilliant and erudite poet] Colonel Buka Suka Dimka and scores of others, he threw away with all impunity the wisdom of balancing religious and North/South factors in governance in Nigeria. Major General Muhammadu Buhari picked General Tunde Idiagbon, a co-Muslim as his next in command – Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters. Tunde Idiagbon, from Ilorin in Kwara State actually was of nomadic Funali race, with his ancestral father migrating from Daura in Katsina State – the same place of origin with Buhari. Anyone in doubt of this can go to the Emir Palace in Ilorin to confirm the authenticity of this revelation.

I need not pay too much attention to the Moshood Abiiola and his running mate, Babagana Kingibe Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket of 1993, another attempt in jettisoning the wisdom of comfortable co-existence put together by Sir Ahmadu Bello, by another military “evil genius” [as he called himself]; General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. Thank God, that attempt ‘died’ on arrival with the winner [first ever declared freest election in Nigeria] incarcerated in prison by the same  military government until he was terminally wasted, presumably by the same military rascals.

Now APC and Buhari have reintroduced the malady of not balancing the two main religions [Christian/Muslim] into administration of government in Nigeria. In addition, President Buhari now is painstakingly adding NEPOTISM to it, not minding that the first military coup in Nigeria headed by the vibrant Major Kaduna Nzogwu, charged the overthrown civilian government of, among other things; NEPOTISM. Or how will you describe the President’s appointment, made so far? Only one out of twelve appointments (Femi Adesina) is from the South, all the remaining are from Northern Nigeria.

Even there is a greater dimension that might sink the ship of the nation faster by the time you add the appointment of Lawal Musa Daura as Director-General of the State Security Services [SSS]  to the remaining maladies for some simple reasons.  Lawal Daura was born on August 5, 1953, joined the DSS, worked, retired from the Service at the age of sixty years in 2013 and recalled back from retirement to head the same SSS on July 2, 2015. The only “qualification” that brought him back from retirement into active service, after retiring at the mandatory age of sixty years, is because “he is an indigene of Daura town” the same town of President Buhari. I submit in begging Mr. President and this APC Government to take it easy for Nigeria survival’s sake please.

Mr. Godwin Etakibuebu, a commentator on national affairs, wrote from Lagos.