7th March, 2019
PRESS RELEASE:
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)
