To many devout Christians, the idea of combining the practice of their faith with active partisan politics   is so antithetical that the mere thought of it is seen as a sign that one has backslidden from pure Christianity.

This is because active partisan politics, especially in Nigeria, is said to be a dirty game and adjudged to be associated with the things that Christianity vehemently preaches against: lying, covetousness, stealing and mentioning God’s name in vain ; amongst others.

Therefore when a group of politicians under the aegis of Northern Nigeria Christian Politicians converged on Abuja penultimate Saturday to honour the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir Lawal, many critical observers were quick to dismiss it as an incongruous gathering. Not a few also wondered aloud   the capacity of politicians to hide under any guise to advance their cause.

But when Speaker Yakubu Dogara was given an opportunity to speak there was no room for political rhetorics, he hit squarely at the very issue that has continued to draw the northern part of the country backward: distrust among Christians and Muslims.

According to Dogara, rather than accentuating the areas of division among the various groups, ethnicity and religions in the north, what politicians of every colour and creed should do is to emphasise our common humanity and our areas of strength thereby underscoring the miracles that will be performed if all of us: Muslims, Christians, other faiths and the diverse ethnic nationalities come together to further our collective aspirations of building a better society and country that all of us would be proud of.

Dogara, who praised the efforts of some notable northern Muslim political leaders in cementing the hitherto fractured relations between the two dominant religious groups in the north, admitted that had northern Muslim leaders prevailed on their Reps not to vote for him, he would never have emerged as Speaker.

It is his belief that the support he got from northern Muslims and the appointment of Engineer Lawal as SGF by President Muhammadu Buhari, is sending strong signals to all northern Christians that there is now as open invitation to them from their Muslim brethren for a renewed friendship that will   foster unity and religious tolerance in the region, as in the days of the late sage and Premier of   defunct northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto.

Instructively, the emergence of Dogara as Speaker, though supported by many prominent northern Muslim leaders; as he himself acknowledged in his speech, one man stood out among them all, and that is Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who worked tirelessly along with the others   to bring about the present leadership of the House so as to give a sense of belonging to northern Christians in the APC government.

Coincidently, whereas Dogara, hails from same place as Tafawa-Balewa, Tambuwal is not only from Sokoto just as Sardauna but he is also the governor there.

It can be recalled with nostalgia that, on August 18, 2014, Tambuwal, who was then Speaker of the House of Representatives along with the then Sokoto Governor Aliyu Wamakko, on the invitation of Dogara, visited Tafawa Balewa to launch constituency outreach programme and projects embarked upon for his Bogoro/Das/Tafawa-Balewa Federal Constituency; which was the first of such visits by any top ranking northern Muslim political leaders in our recent history.

They went not for politicking but with a strong message: peace and unity.

When he mounted the rostrum to speak at the event, Tambuwal reminded the people of the long term relationship between Tafawa Balewa and the Sokoto caliphate which started with the late Premier Sardauna and Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa and urged the people to embrace peace. Less than one year after, Dogara, with the support of Tambuwal and others became Speaker of the House of Representatives.

It is Dogara’s conviction that working together, we can forge a strong union and take back the region to the good old days when it was the envy of others.

Indeed, no other Christian who was not a politician would have been able to deliver such a poignantly blunt message to politicians without ruffling feathers as  Dogara.

• Turaki A. Hassan is the Special Adviser on Media & Public Affairs