•Task President Buhari On Insecurity
•Muslims Pray For Peaceful Polls

A Professor of Sociology at the University of Lagos, Lai Olurode and former member of Osun State House of Assembly, Leke Ogunsola, have urged the electorate not to sell their votes or be induced by politicians during the Osun State governorship election slated July 16, as doing so would amount to mortgaging their future and enslaving themselves.

Olurode and Ogunsola also tasked the Federal Government, especially President Muhammadu Buhari, to rise and save the nation from total collapse due to security challenges.

The duo disclosed this at a National Prayer Session for Peaceful Osun 2022 Governorship and 2023 General Elections convened by the Sunday Editor of The Guardian, Alhaji Abdulkabir Alabi Garba at Oluponna Central Mosque, Oluponna, Aiyedire South Local Council Development Area in Osun State on Friday.

Muslim leaders, traditional rulers and other Islamic faithful converged to pray for the peaceful conduct of the forthcoming polls.

Speaking, Olurode, a former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said prayers were necessary since human efforts had failed.

On governorship election in Osun, he said: “As we vote on Saturday and general elections next year, we need to take the bull by the horn and reject any money in return for our votes. Let people go out there, make up their minds and say: I will not collect a dime from anybody. Even I believe this country can change if voters realise that they are the employers of political elite…”

“Make up your mind that you are not going to mortgage their future. Vote according to your conscience. That should be duplicated in 2023. We will regain our freedom. We can regain our freedom….”

Speaking in the same vein, Ogunsola, condemned vote-buying and urged voters to shun it on Saturday.

“Vote-buying is not what anyone should encourage. You are selling your conscience. How much will they give you that can last for four years? So, I want to plead with the Osun electorate to be peaceful. There should not be any violence. Security agencies should be neutral and not biased,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Chief Imam of Olupona Central Mosque, Alhaji Robiu Abduljabar KadaraAllahu, commended the convener of the prayer session, Alhaji Garba. He urged Muslim faithful to be fervent in prayer ahead of the elections.

In his remarks, Garba explained that there was a need for Nigerians to commit the forthcoming elections to God, adding that the session was a unique one, having been held on Arafat Day, which also coincided on Friday, a day of prayer for Islamic faithful across the globe.