The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, Monday, urged Nigerians never to allow religion and politics to divide the country again.
Obi, who disclosed this during his visitations and felicitations with Muslim community in Awka, Anambra State on Eid-el-Fitr, maintained that the country would remain the same irrespective of politics.
The candidate donated cartons of noodles, bags of rice and soft drinks to the community during the visit, while also promising to help them in the rebuilding of the mosque, which was undergoing facelift.
According to him, “I want to pledge here and now that I shall contribute to the work you have at hand, to ensure that you have a befitting place of worship. I am a Christian and you are Muslims, but we are all Nigerians, and Nigeria is one. It is only politics that divides us. But let me tell you, I have never seen any road that is built and it is only for Muslims to drive on.
“I have also not seen any market where Christians buy bread cheaper than Muslims. If you know such market, please tell me, let me go and buy. If you go to Dubai, the land on which one of the biggest churches is built was donated by the ruler of Dubai. In England too, a mosque was donated by the queen, who is the head of the church of England.
“We are one and we are created by the same God. Only religion is dividing us, but we should not let religion or politics to divide us. Nigeria will continue to be one irrespective of politics. I told people I will start fighting poverty from the north and people said North is not poorer than South, and that I’m from South, so I can start here, but truth is that I know that vast land which we would use to solve the problem of poverty is in the north.”
Speaking on behalf of the Muslim community, the leader, Alhaji Musa Bello, thanked Obi for being their regular visitor and for sponsoring most of them at different levels.
“I was among the Muslims you sponsored to Saudi Arabia during your tenure. You did not know me before you did it. You are a lover of all men, and you have been very beneficial to mankind,” he said.
