Gov Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Monday described as baseless calls that the next governor of the state should be of a particular faith.
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He contended that religion and good governance were two different things and democratic dividends had no religious coloration.
Fashola stressed that anybody could emerge as governor irrespective of faith, noting that Lagosians had not been known to elect their governors based on religion.
The governor said that he read in one of the papers on Monday morning a statement to the effect that a group was insisting on a Christian governor in Lagos State.
He said: “I don’t recall the last time that a governor of Lagos was elected on the basis of his religious beliefs.
“What will the preference for governor of one faith over the other even benefit us?
“Will it give one religion roads that other faiths cannot use? Will it give them schools that children from other faiths cannot attend or will it bring water that only one faith can drink?
“Will it begin to draw a very clear line between poverty and the faith? Does hunger know your faith?’’
The governor urged religious leaders to guard their pulpits with utmost responsibility and watch the messages being passed across from there.
He advised them not to use religion for personal aggrandisement but a tool to promote peace and unite the people.
The governor cautioned religious leaders against religious debates that would lead nowhere.
`There are rules in the legal profession, there are rules in football as well; you cannot tackle from behind.
“What are the rules in religious debate? Who is going to be the umpire? I know that there are many people for whom spirituality is a calling; I also know that for some, it’s a business.
“For a long time, the state and religion have been one, but over time, we have also tried to separate religion from the state, but it has not been a successful venture.
“I am not sure that clear separation will happen and I’m not even sure what clear separation will deliver.
“But one of the things I will suggest is that we should take better control of our pulpits and be more restrained in what comes from there,” he said
Fashola stressed that anybody could emerge as governor irrespective of faith, noting that Lagosians had not been known to elect their governors based on religion.
The governor said that he read in one of the papers on Monday morning a statement to the effect that a group was insisting on a Christian governor in Lagos State.
He said: “I don’t recall the last time that a governor of Lagos was elected on the basis of his religious beliefs.
“What will the preference for governor of one faith over the other even benefit us?
“Will it give one religion roads that other faiths cannot use? Will it give them schools that children from other faiths cannot attend or will it bring water that only one faith can drink?
“Will it begin to draw a very clear line between poverty and the faith? Does hunger know your faith?’’
The governor urged religious leaders to guard their pulpits with utmost responsibility and watch the messages being passed across from there.
He advised them not to use religion for personal aggrandisement but a tool to promote peace and unite the people.
The governor cautioned religious leaders against religious debates that would lead nowhere.
`There are rules in the legal profession, there are rules in football as well; you cannot tackle from behind.
“What are the rules in religious debate? Who is going to be the umpire? I know that there are many people for whom spirituality is a calling; I also know that for some, it’s a business.
“For a long time, the state and religion have been one, but over time, we have also tried to separate religion from the state, but it has not been a successful venture.
“I am not sure that clear separation will happen and I’m not even sure what clear separation will deliver.
“But one of the things I will suggest is that we should take better control of our pulpits and be more restrained in what comes from there,” he said
The best candidate should always emerge as governor. I am a christian, no doubt, but I do not regard very much all these clamour for a christian governor. If the best candidate is a muslim, please let him be. If the best candidate is a christian, please let him be.
ReplyDeleteI am very much in support of the best candidate irrespective of religion. I'm a christian, yes but that does not mean I must support a christian candidate even if the guy is a wrong guy.
ReplyDeleteCAN has been polarising almost everything along religious divide, meetings has been holding in Lagos since last year by CAN for all churches to advice congragations to vote 4 a Xtian, this is really a bad precedence
ReplyDeleteI am a muslim bt I wl support any xtern dat can deliver good government 2 d pple dan any muslim dat wil not do d right tin. So may God give us d best muslim or christn.
ReplyDelete