By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
Public ommentators have been warned against attempts to introduce tribal, sectional and or religious coloration and interpretation to the recent remarks by the Nigeria’s Defence Minister, General Christopher Musa in a television interaction.
The warning was given by a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State and loyalist of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Khamis Musa Darazo, while speaking with Journalists on Saturday in Bauchi.
He said that the Eight years governance style of the former Kaduna State Governor, Mal Nasiru El-Rufai, negatively affected people across the State and was not limited to Southern Kaduna.
Khamis Musa Darazo described as most unfortunate, attempts by some commentators to give sectional or religious interpretation to the remarks by the Minister.
He said the Minister’s reference to the experiences of “Our people” should be understood in the broader context of entire Kaduna State, rather than being interpreted as a reference exclusively to Southern Kaduna.
According to him, “The reality is that the grievances surrounding Nasir El-Rufai’s style of governance were negatively felt across Kaduna State and not exclusively by the people of Southern Kaduna.”
Khamis Musa Darazo maintained that Christopher Musa did not criticise Nasir El-Rufai on the basis of religion, describing such an interpretation as misplaced.
According to him, “The Minister did not call out Nasiru El-Rufai because he is a Muslim. That interpretation is completely misplaced.”
He stressed that, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani are both Muslims, yet both have continued to demonstrate efforts toward reducing division and promoting unity,”
The APC chieftain urged Nigerians to avoid turning the issue into a religious or regional confrontation, stressing that he would not support any attempt to exploit the matter to deepen divisions.
“As a loyalist of President Tinubu and someone who believes strongly in national unity, I will not support attempts to turn this matter into a religious or regional confrontation,” he stated.
Khamis Musa Darazo further explained that the expression “Our people” should be understood as referring to the people of Kaduna State as a whole because according to him, “Our people can never mean only Southern Kaduna. It means the people of Kaduna State as a whole.”
“Different communities experienced different challenges, and it is unfair to erase the experiences of others by presenting the matter as though it concerned only one section of the state,” he said.
He therefore urged Nigerians to consider the Minister’s comments within their proper context and focus on the substance of the concerns raised, rather than what he described as deliberate attempts to twist the statement into a religious or sectional narrative.
According to him, the priority should be responsible leadership capable of promoting peace, justice, unity and security across the country.
Khamis Musa Darazo concluded that, “Kaduna belongs to all its people, and no community should be made to feel that its experience does not matter.”
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