With few days to the presidential election, the Oyo state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, has tasked Nigerians to leave sentiments apart in casting their votes for a new president of the country in the 2023 general elections.
The governor make the remark while speaking at the Comfort Life Mission International (aka Olorun Ojiji), Ikoyi, Osun state, during its monthly 7-7 programme.
According to the governor, there was the need for Nigerians to use the opportunity of the 2023 general election to “take back Nigeria and place it on the path of righteousness”.
He said the February 25 presidential election would be an election like no other and that it would usher in a truly independent Nigeria if Nigerians would shun sentiments in exercising their franchise, adding that similar mistake made in 2015 had not yielded any positive result for Nigerians.
“In two weeks time, the presidential election will be holding and we must take a firm decision. I am here on the altar of God and I can tell you that the 2023 election will be a turning point for Nigeria. You see, the election I can compare with the forthcoming one was the one that held in 1955 before Nigeria gained independence”, he said.
Makinde added, “I said this because, after this 2023 general election, Nigeria will become truly independent. So, I want to urge you to leave sentiments apart. In 2015, you voted based on sentiment; you voted for Muslim and a pastor. But I asked them to show me a Christian among those who got the ticket. Even the pastor, who is a Christian, was not allowed to operate”.
“When the President was ill and flown abroad, he (Vice President) was in charge for a couple of months and we all felt the difference. Now, the direction we have to go must be devoid of sentiment. We must be practical and ask ourselves what we want about the vessel God wants to use”.
Speaking further, the governor noted, “If there is darkness in a place and you light one candle, and then another, and then another, gradually, the darkness will disappear.”
“So, as Christians, we must participate. This is not the time to say we want to be politically correct as this is the time for activism. It is the time for us to take back our country and put it on the path of righteousness”.
He corrected the insinuation that politics is a dirty game, urging the Christians to abstain from it as it has been unhelpful, and that “more Christians should participate in politics and governance, as it will help to lighten the darkness in the world.”
“My message to you today is simple. I know we Christians are passive when it comes to our involvement in politics because we believe it is a dirty venture, which is meant only for the dirty, deceitful and ungodly people.
“Yes, judging from where we are coming from, there could have been darkness but if we are to consider where we are going to, we need light. We need gradual and consistent light to completely overcome the darkness. So, our participation can be likened to the light.”
