62nd Independence Anniversary: Vote wisely in 2023 polls, Sanwo-Olu charges Nigerians

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has charged Nigerians to vote wisely in next year’s general elections by choosing a good leader in order to have a better Nigeria.

Governor Sanwo-Olu gave the charge at a special Jumaat to commemorate the 62nd National Independence Day Celebration, urging Nigerians to be astute in their voting and avoid elevating issues that were not necessary.

The governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, at the occasion, which was held at the Lagos State Secretariat Community Central Mosque, Alausa, Ikeja, charged
the general public to consider what the different candidates had done in their various communities, among others in taking their decision on who to vote for.

“The general public should consider what the different candidates have done in their various communities, looking at who has done what before, who has sustained a state and who has raised people,” he said.

He enjoined Nigerians not to listen to bogus statistics but should consider the plan the candidates had especially in the areas of security, economic development, and social and physical infrastructure provisions.

Bemoaning the religious distractions within the country, Governor Sanwo-Olu stated that the election should be based on capacity, and achievement instead of religion and other inconsequential considerations, adding that there was no point in elevating religion instead of the virtues required of productive leadership.

“If we can put our lives in the hands of doctors without asking for their religion before surgery, why then are we neglecting what we are supposed to do and doing otherwise in the name of religion?” he queried.

Speaking further, the governor admonished Nigerians to seek to fix the country and make it better, reiterating that every developed nation had been lucky to have good leaders at a point in time and Nigeria cannot be an exception, even as he cited Singapore having Lee Kuan Yew and America having Abraham Lincoln at the right time which led to the rapid development of the different countries.

Sanwo-Olu, however, thanked Allah that at the 62nd National Independence, the country was intact and prayed that Nigeria does not miss the opportunity of choosing a good leader at this time.

Earlier in his sermon, Sheikh Saheed Abdul Razak Aro, admonished Nigerians to be more responsible in their deeds, adding that the citizens had roles to play in the development of the country, just as he said the government also had theirs.

The Sheikh stated that individual issues cannot be associated with government shortcomings, mentioning that a 16-year-old child who engaged in ritual killings was an individual problem and not that of the government.

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