Nigeria
Catholic council asks Christian Nigerians to vote

afrol News, 20 February - The Catholic laity council of Nigeria has urged all Christian citizens of the country to use their right to vote at the 19 April (Easter Saturday) polls. Without directly supporting incumbent Christian President Obasanjo, whose main challenger is a Muslim candidate, the council says Christians should be more interested in politics.

At a press conference in Abuja, John Iredia, President of the Council, presented a nine-point communiqué drafted after council meeting held at Kagoro, Kaduna State. There, it is revealed that the Catholics fear Christians may not participate in the poll as election day coincides with the holy Easter Saturday. Especially for Catholics, the Easter celebrations are central to their faith.

In the statement from Mr Iredia, it is heard that Catholics and all other Christians in Nigeria not only should participate actively in the election "as a matter of sacrifice", but also "to closely monitor the entire processes in order to avert rigging." 

Further the Catholic representative stated his deep concern over "the apparent lukewarmness of Christians towards politics and governance, urging them to come out enemas to vote in to power, good politicians at all levels."

Asked whether there was any candidate to the presidency especially preferred by the Catholic community, Mr Iredia declined to name any names. The Christians of Nigeria generally were democratically inclined, he said. Therefore, he could not tell Christians "to vote for any particular candidate. What we can say is that they should vote for good candidates of their choice," he said.

Even though Mr Iredia would not make any particular recommendation, it can be clearly understood that the urge to Christians to vote on Easter Saturday is a warning to not let the Muslim half of the population get away with an election victory.

Mr Iredia said that in view of the strains posed by the observance of the holy Easter Saturday and full participation in the election for that day, the Council had requested to reschedule the poll to the Independent National Electoral Commission. The Commission however had turned down the request, stressing that any shift of the date would complicate the electoral process - particularly in the event that a run-off election would become necessary.

The poll in Nigeria, the second exercise of democracy after the end of 15 years of military dictatorship in 1999, is set to become a power struggle between the Muslim north and the southern parts of the federation, which is dominated by Christianity and African religions. During civil government, the differences between north and south have only grown.

As the Christian ex-General Olusegun Obasanjo won the 1999 elections, his programme of democratisation won massive support in all Nigeria's states, Muslim and Christian alike. Since that, the President has maintained a low profile in religious matter, even letting the northern states of the federation break with secular traditions and introduce the disputed Muslim Shari'a legislation.

As this year's polls are approaching, President Obasanjo however has become more disputed himself. He cannot point to many solutions regarding the country's poor economy or the increase in ethnic conflicts. The very cautious intents to slow down the growth of Muslim fundamentalism in the north have only meant his losing of almost all support in this part of the country.

President Obasanjo is the official candidate of Nigeria's ruling party and remains the favourite to win the April poll. There is a large number of candidates campaigning against him. Most of Nigeria's leading opposition parties and groups have however joined forces and presented Muhammadu Buhari from the Muslim north. General Buhari ruled Nigeria from 1984 to 1985.

The poll therefore seems to concentrate on two main candidates, one northerner and one southerner, although both Mr Obasanjo and Mr Buhari so far have abstained from playing religious strings. This could easily lead to a new round of polarisation and religious violence, making it impossible for a serious candidate to run the country after winning the poll.

It is assumed that 48 percent of Nigeria's population of 122 million is Muslim. Some 36 percent are Christians, of which 13 percent are Catholics. The remaining 16 percent of Nigeria's population belongs to different African religions and local faiths.

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