Yoruba community in Northern Nigeria prays for violence-free elections

Yoruba Community in Northern Nigeria and the FCT on Sunday held a prayer session for the unity of Nigeria and a free, fair, and violence-free election in 2023.

The prayer, which coincided with Yoruba Community Day, was witnessed by a large gathering of Yoruba people from across the state, along with leaders of each of the 20 chapters from the 19 Northern States and the FCT.

President of the Yoruba Community for 19 Northern States and the FCT, Alhaji AbdulRazak Mustapha, told journalists that the gathering also prayed for peaceful coexistence of Yorubas and other tribes across the North and Nigeria.

“We prayed for unity, peace, development, and growth in Nigeria; we prayed for a peaceful election next year; we prayed for peace and security for all Yoruba indigenes in Northern Nigeria, the FCT, and other places. “We prayed to have security, patience, and peaceful coexistence with our hosts,” he said.

The President, who cited a lack of unity with each other and not working together for growth and development, said the orientation carried out after the prayers aimed at addressing the challenges facing the Yoruba in the North through love.

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“The Yorubas in Kaduna State are large in number; in terms of population, I think we are second after the hosts, so we need peace, unity, and understanding,” he added.

On the 2023 general elections, the Yoruba leader said, “The stand of Yoruba is to have peaceful, free, and fair elections in 2023.

“We have people in different political parties, so we cannot force anybody to vote for one party or the other, but we support the proverb that says charity begins at home.

“So far, so good. The government is doing everything possible to ensure a peaceful, free, and fair election, but all stakeholders should work harder to help the government ensure a successful changeover of the baton.

“We are doing everything possible within ourselves to educate the youth to use their energy in resourceful manners rather than engage in thuggery.

“We called for prayers, and we engaged each one of our youth to be peaceful and ensure peaceful elections.

“We have traditional leaders representing the various communities in Kaduna State and Northern States; we urged them to ensure peace in their environment, and where there is trouble, the council should be called upon to support them.”

On the welfare program for members, the president said, “We have a cooperative society that started six months ago. We believed that with the support of civil society organizations, we would be able to reach some of our members, particularly those engaged in petty trading.”