The bow tie worn by the All Progressives’
Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari, in recent campaign
photographs may have raised worries over
the retired general’s religious views, a
diplomat has told THISDAY.
Buhari had last week met with Catholic
Bishops in Abuja. At the meeting, the APC
candidate allayed fears of an agenda to
Islamise Nigeria, if elected president,
describing the allegations of extremism
levelled against him as baseless.
However, a diplomat from one of the Arab-
speaking countries told THISDAY that the
decision of the APC candidate to wear a bow
tie may be a reflection of his strong Islamic
beliefs.
Spokesman for the Buhari Campaign
Organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, however,
said there was nothing unusual with the bow
tie. He was quick to add that the photograph
was taken long before he became Buhari’s
media manager and therefore could not
comment on why a bow tie was chosen.
He promised to “cross check and get back.”
Elaborating on the photograph, the diplomat
said, “I don’t know why (he) Buhari chose a
bow tie. But we know that radical Muslims
don’t wear neck ties out of the belief that it is
Haram (sin).
“Such Muslims believe that the neck tie looks
like a cross, which Christians consider the
most important spiritual symbol of their faith,
reason they don’t wear it.
“However, when it becomes absolutely
necessary to wear a tie, such Muslims simply
go for bow ties,” said the envoy.
The diplomat who didn’t want his name in
print, was quick to add that millions of
Muslims around the world, including himself,
wear neck ties, “not minding the religious
theories surrounding its origin.”
He said, “We have great Muslim
professionals like lawyers, bankers and
security operatives who wear neck ties.”
Buhari had in 2002 reportedly urged Muslims
to vote for only Muslim candidates. The
report had portrayed the retired general as a
fundamentalist, an impression he has been
fighting hard to change.
The APC candidate has been accused by
rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of
harbouring a religious agenda. PDP has also
accused APC of supporting the terrorist
organisation Boko Haram.
THISDAY gathered that one of the strategies
adopted by Buhari’s handlers to woo
Christian voters, particularly in the South-east
and South-south was to capture him in a suit
and tie.
The handlers also released another campaign
photograph of the retired general in traditional
Igbo attire, apparently to appeal to the Igbo
who have a block vote in the five South-east
states.
The campaign photographs had Buhari and
his running mate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo in suit.
In the photograph, Buhari was decked in
black suit, a white shirt, a black bow tie and
a pair of designer glasses. Osinbajo, a
professor of law, had a black suit on, a white
shirt, and a dotted red tie.
This is the first time Buhari, who ran for the
presidency in 2003, 2007 and 2011, would
brand himself in suit and tie.
In the three previous elections, the 72-year
old retired general used baban riga (flowing
robes) and cap for his campaign posters.
However, according to the diplomat,
Buhari’s preference for a bow tie to a neck
tie may have backfired.
He pointed to the United States where
members of the islamic religious movement,
Nation of Islam (NOI), do not wear neck ties.
Such NOI members, he said, include former
world boxing champion Muhammed Ali,
Malcolm X and NOI leader and world famous
Islamic preacher, Loius Farrakhan.
THISDAY checks revealed that some
Christians prefer bow ties over neck ties as a
matter of style. For radical muslims, however,
said the diplomat, “it is a matter of faith
versus fashion.”
The diplomat claimed that Buhari may have
settled for a bow tie “to strike a balance
between achieving some degree of
acceptance among Christians and not
offending the religious sensibilities of certain
category of muslims.”
He said, “Look at the former Governor of the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), (Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi), before his appointment as
the Emir of Kano, he (Sanusi) was a
professional banker but never wore a neck
tie.
“Due to Sanusi’s strict Islamic upbringing
and education, he had to always make do
with bow ties,” claimed the diplomat.
He told THISDAY that Shitte muslims don’t
wear neck ties for religious and ideological
reasons. Iran is home of Shitte muslims.
“After the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran
overthrew the monarchy, the country’s new
spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeni, banned
neck and bow ties.
“Till date, most Iranians, including President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wear suits but leave
the collars of their shirts open,” he declared.
Thisday Live.
