7th March, 2019
USE YOUR VOTE TO SUPPORT ANTI-CORRUPTION WAR
As Nigeria’s 84 million registered
voters prepare to go to the polls once again on Saturday 9th March,
2019 to elect state governors, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has charged
Nigerians to manifest their patriotism by using their votes in support of the
war against corruption.
This was stated in a press
release issued by the Islamic human rights organization on Thursday, 7th
March, 2019. The statement was signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq
Akintola.
“Nigerian voters have the
right to be properly enlightened about the need to vote at all and to vote
right. It is about a better tomorrow. It is about ensuring that our children do
not suffer from poverty, disease, darkness, ignorance and joblessness the way
we were made to suffer. It is about insulating the coming generation of
Nigerians against the ‘wasted generation’ phenomenon.
“The repercussions of corruption over
the years have been most felt among the middle class and the downtrodden
masses. It has brought acute poverty, epileptic power supply, poor public
health facilities, pension woes and a comatose education sector.
“But things started looking up within
the short span that the Buhari administration locked horns with the corruption
cankerworm. Electricity megawatt rose from 3,000 to 7,000. Nigeria’s road
network witnessed an unprecedented turnaround. The railways roared back.
Pensioners were able to smile and several social welfare schemes which were put
in place facilitated the redistribution of wealth in such a manner that poor Nigerians
received cash directly from the Federal Government (FG).
“All these go to prove that the anti-corruption efforts of the Buhari
administration have yielded fruits. Our national image has also improved.
Whereas Transparency International (TI) ranked Nigeria as the First Most Corrupt
nation in the whole world in 2001, Second Most Corrupt in 2003 and Third Most
Corrupt in 2004, our rating has now improved tremendously. According to the 2018
Corruption Perception Index by TI, Nigeria now occupies number 144 out of 175
countries.
“We stand a good chance of
boosting the war against corruption on Saturday by voting for governorship
candidates who identify with President Muhammadu Buhari. On the contrary, we
will be supporting corruption if we cast our votes for candidates who oppose our
president. Also, the dividends of democracy which we have seen in form of better
roads, railways, improved power supply, etc, stand a good chance of continuing at
a higher scale.
“It is not about any political party.
It is for the sake of Nigeria. Our clarion call is to awaken true patriots. We
must allow the good works of President Buhari to continue without distractions.
We must vote in such a way that conflicting interests are removed in
developmental issues. For instance, metropolitan cities like Lagos, Kaduna and
Kano stand to gain more by aligning with the center.
“Every nation that seeks genuine breakthrough
must model its life pattern after a hero. South Africans chose Nelson Mandela.
America picked George Washington. Lenin
built Russia. China had Chairman Mao. Malaysia had Mahathir Muhammad. Today President
Muhammadu Buhari has become the father of modern Nigeria but he has only worked
halfway. He needs our votes for his governorship candidates to consolidate his
position.
“On a last note, we remind
Nigerians that although Buhari won the battle with his victory at the
presidential election held on 23rd February, 2019, the war rages on.
Corruption will continue to fight back. The number of state governors who line
up behind Mr. President will go a long way to determine how effective the war
against corruption will be. This is why we must use our votes this Saturday to
support the fight against corruption. The way we vote will tell the world
whether or not we cherish decency, discipline, integrity, infrastructural
development, stable power supply and the elimination of poverty.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern
(MURIC)
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