An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Bauchi State, Khamis Musa Darazo, has called on Nigerians to resist attempts to turn Defence Minister Christopher Musa’s remarks on former Kaduna State Governor Nasiru El-Rufai into a religious or regional controversy.
Darazo said the ongoing reactions to the Minister’s comments risked shifting attention away from the issues of governance and public experience that informed the remarks.
Speaking with journalists on Saturday in Bauchi, the APC chieftain said Christopher Musa’s reference to “our people” during a Channels Television interview was a broad reference to the people of Kaduna State.
He maintained that the statement should not be interpreted as referring exclusively to Southern Kaduna or as an attack on Muslims.
“Our people can never mean only Southern Kaduna. It means the people of Kaduna State as a whole,” Darazo said.
According to him, El-Rufai’s administration affected different communities across Kaduna State, although the nature and extent of their experiences may have varied.
He therefore described attempts to give the Minister’s comments a religious interpretation as misplaced.
“The Minister did not call out Nasiru El-Rufai because he is a Muslim. That interpretation is completely misplaced,” he said.
Darazo, a supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said political disagreements should not be allowed to fuel religious or ethnic divisions in the country.
He cited President Tinubu and Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani as examples of Muslim leaders who, according to him, have continued to pursue policies aimed at promoting unity and reducing 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.
He urged Nigerians to consider political statements within their proper context and concentrate on issues of governance, justice, peace and security rather than interpretations capable of deepening existing divisions.
Darazo said the experiences of all communities in Kaduna should be acknowledged, stressing that no section of the state should be excluded from discussions about its governance.
