Politicians, according to Matthew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, are all allies competing for a piece of the “national cake.”
In an interview with Channels Television’s Matthew Kukahnrise Daily on Tuesday, Kukah made this claim.
Kukah claims that opposition politicians are buddies and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
The cleric made his statement a few hours after Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, and Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s candidate, laughed among themselves at the private terminal of Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport on Monday.
Political party followers should take a cue from the friendly banter between Tinubu and Atiku, according to Kukah, the convener of the National Peace Committee.
He claimed that the jokes were intended to send a message to supporters of both of the front-runners for the presidency in 2023: be wise, abstain from violence, and don’t commit suicide over people who share the same pool.
In order to show their support for their candidates, the cleric forbade political supporters from killing themselves.
He said, “These politicians are struggling and they’ve lived their lives struggling for the national cake which they will distribute amongst themselves. It is therefore in the interest of ordinary Nigerians to know that they have to vote to stay alive.
“Supporters of candidates all over the country need to be a bit more restrained and wise. We ordinary people must figure out how to manage our passion when it comes to politics. Don’t take seriously the grandstanding of the politicians.
“All the things you see about them abusing themselves or quarrelling, you will think they will never shake hands. They are very good friends, and many of them drink from the same pool. So, don’t go and kill yourself for nothing. That is what that message is all about,” he said.