Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has urged Nigerians to live together, adding that no one has the right to lord over others.
The former governor of Lagos State also urged Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, to join hands against violence, hunger, ignorance and bigotry.
Tinubu said this at a town hall meeting in Kano where he assured Muslim leaders that if elected as president in 2023, his government will offer fair and just leadership to all Nigerians.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Tunde Rahman, for the Tinubu Media Office, on Tuesday.
Tinubu was quoted as saying, “Religious leaders like you are agents of harmony and hope, not division and disunity. All well-meaning Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, must join hands against violence, hunger, ignorance and bigotry.
“We all must live together. No one has the right to try to lord over the other. Allah stands against such injustice. And where Allah stands, all bad things must fall.
“Mean-spirited politicians, those thinking only of themselves or those who think they mean more than the nation itself, will go to great lengths to deceive or recruit eminent persons to unknowingly preach division and hatred.
“They cannot win with the truth. So, they will try to win with a lie. But a lie never wins in the end. Those they cannot beat with honesty, they seek to beat them with untruth and falsity. They want to turn servants of God into preachers of division and hateful sentiment.”
Speaking further, Tinubu assured the Muslim leaders that he would carry on with the spirit of togetherness and oneness displayed in his campaigns.
The former governor then pledged to conduct himself in public office on the values and ideals of fairness and justice, adding that he would always speak about facts and truths, policies and programs.
He said, “I promise to be a fair and just leader. This pledge is based on the Islamic teachings on leadership. A leader in a plural society is enjoined to be a leader for all. If elected, I shall govern in harmony with our nation’s democratic Constitution.
“More than that. I shall tackle this nation’s problems with a commitment to solving them. I say this not as a boast. I say it based on my record. As Lagos governor, I assembled perhaps the most diverse team in any state government.
“That team was based on competence, not tribal this or regional that. It was not based on the attire one wore or the accent one spoke with, but on the quality of one’s ideas and contributions to society.
“If given the chance by Almighty Allah, I will operate in the same spirit of inclusiveness and innovation in order to renew the hope of our people. My highest priorities shall be the protection of our land and prosperity of its people.”
On insecurity, the presidential candidate assured the Muslim leaders of his willingness to increase security personnel and better equip them to attack and defeat criminals.
“Regarding security, my policy is not artificial and created to sound good for this campaign. My security policy is based on dedicated study and long conversations with experts in this field.
“This is the same approach I used to tackle the bad security situation that faced me when I became governor of Lagos. I created programs and institutions to solve the real and dangerous challenges Lagos faced,” he said.
“We shall increase security personnel and better equip them. Advanced air and ground surveillance technology will identify, track and attack the criminals until they are utterly defeated.
“As we fight terror and crime, we shall also attack poverty, hunger and the despair they cause,” he added.
(Punch)
