Stop destructive criticisms, Mufassir of Akure tells politicians

AHEAD of the general election, politicians have been urged to stop blaming one another for the country’s socio-economic and political problems and engage in arguments that could engender a turnaround in the fortune of the country in their campaigns.

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The Mufassir of Akure, the Ondo State capital, Sheikh Mashood Raji Kewuyemi, made the plea during a special prayer session/public lecture organised towards the peaceful conduct of the next elections, held at the Akure Central Mosque, Akure.

Kewuyemi argued that no segment of the Nigerian society is without blame for how the country found itself in its present predicaments.

According to the cleric, despite the fact that the country is blessed with intelligent and enterprising citizens and abundant resources, its potentialities have failed to translate to development because of greed, nepotism, religious intolerance, endemic corruption and dearth of patriotic leaders.

He noted that the leaders and the led had been responsible for the challenges confronting the country and called on all and sundry to embrace a change of attitude in the interest of their common destiny.

Kewuyemi listed piety, persistent optimism, renewed patriotic zeal and unbiased fight against corruption as some of the ingredients for the transformation of the country.

The Mufassir also warned the citizens against cursing their political leaders, saying they should instead seek God’s guidance for them and ask for divine intervention in the nation’s affairs.

The cleric, however, noted: “More often than not, people get the type of leadership they truly deserve. And Allah will not change the fate of a people for the better until they change what is in their hearts and turn over a new leaf.”

Earlier, the Chief Imam of Akure land, Sheikh Abdul-Hakeem Yayi Akorede, said the post-election violence of 1983 in the old Ondo State and the grave implications of inordinate struggles for political power had made it imperative for the Muslim community to seek the face of Allah for free, fair and rancour-free 2019 elections.

The spiritual leader, who recalled that a similar prayer session was held prior to the 2015 elections, urged Nigerians not to regard politics as a do-or-die affair “as only Allah gives or takes power from people at will.”

Speaking to newsmen at the event, the immediate past governor of the state and a senatorial candidate on the platform of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Dr Olusegun Mimiko, commended the organisers and noted that politics should not divide the people but cause them to work together for the attainment of development.

He advised the electorate not to mortgage their future by engaging in vote selling.