The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of using religion as a political tool to divide Nigerians after the ruling party said the APCs manifesto was a product of Janjaweed Ideology, in reference to the Sudanese extremist group accused of killing civilians. APC National Summit in Abuja On Thursday the APC unveiled its manifesto – the party’s plan to boos Nigerias economy, create jobs and enhance security if elected into office in the 2015 general elections. In a statement issued on Sunday by the APC spokesperson Lai Mohammed the party called the PDPs comment a part of its ongoing campaign to portrait the APC as an Islamic party. On a more dangerous level, it shows that the PDP will not relent from engaging in Islamophobia by using the Boko Haram crisis in a part of the country to stereotype Muslims and paint them as terrorists, even when it is obvious that majority of Muslims do not support the heinous crimes being perpetrated by the sect, the APC said in a statement. According to Mohammed, the APC was wondering why the PDP would refer to Janjaweed, saying it was nothing short of religious escapism and a dangerous attempt to whip up religious sentiments against people of a certain faith. The only reason that the PDP used the word Janjaweed is because the militia that goes by that name comprises mostly, if not exclusively, of people of Arab/Muslim stock in Sudan. The APC said that the PDPs reaction to the manifesto was another sign that the ruling party tries to divide Nigerians along religious lines and to use religious as a political tool – a very dangerous move that can only result in religious warfare, from which no country that engages in it has ever survived intact. Perhaps the PDP has mistaken our decision to take the high road and avoid religious and ethnic politics as a sign that it (PDP) is succeeding in its religious blackmail. Therefore, we have decided to let Nigerians know that the sooner they repudiate this dangerous tactics by the PDP, the safer for our country. The party also said that it supports issues-based politics and not that based on religious sentiments. We believe God is neither Christian nor Muslim, and that he is the God of all, irrespective of their religion. We believe God will judge politicians not according to their religion but according to how much they have fulfilled the mandate to ensure the welfare and security of their people, and by how much they have lessened the people’s burdens rather add to them. The APC called on the PDP to present its own manifesto so that Nigerians could compare the two road maps. The party also announced that in days and weeks ahead it will be highlighting the key areas of its manifesto for all Nigerians to see. READ MORE: news.naij/61316.html
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 09:29:43 +0000
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