The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been urged to avoid zoning in picking their presidential candidate, but should instead choose the best candidate for the country in the 2023 general election.
The founder of One Love Family, Sat Guru Maharaji, who made the call in Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday while delivering a lecture, said over 20 years after the present democratic dispensation, the time has come to jettison ethnic sentiments in electing a leader for the country.
He argued that the two major political parties should look towards Nigerians with proven track record of trustworthiness and national outlook as their presidential candidate in order to save the country from the precipice it has found itself.
While expressing concerns that all previous efforts to stabilise the country have been bastardised by the worrisome upsurge of ethnicity and religious schisms, he stated that these trends needed to be reversed as what is needed is competent leaders with sterling qualities.
According to him, the present leadership in the country has failed Nigerians as it has no solution to the myriad of problems such as insecurity, corruption and dwindling economy, stating that the situation in Nigeria is daily becoming unbearable for the people who are wallowing in poverty.
The cleric maintained that the country is endowed with the best human resources to move it forward, insisting that the 2023 election provides the opportunity for Nigeria to choose the best among the best for the country to assume its rightful position in the comity of nations.
Maharaji said: “From 1999, the country has been dwelling more on issues that cannot take us anywhere-such as tribe and religion. I think that the time has come to change the narrative to the best for the country. The two major political parties, APC and PDP, owe Nigerians the best candidate for the 2023 election irrespective of where he or she may come from and the religion such a person professes.”
He also faulted the leader of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, on his call for no election in 2023 except there is a new constitution, noting that elder statesmen like him owe Nigerians a duty to be circumspect in their statements in order not to heat up the polity unnecessarily.
