By Kingsley Chukwuka
A group under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Groups has said it will not allow the mistake of 2015 to repeat itself in who becomes the President of the country in 2023.
The group said in 2015 the country, especially the northern geopolitical zone voted along religious and ethnic lines, vowing not to allow itself to be deceived by politicians in the coming elections.
“We will vote for only a candidate who has the solution to the country’s problem and not a politician who will want to win our votes through religious or ethnic sentiments”, National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi said on Wednesday in Jos.
Speaking at a forum tagged: 2023 Election Sensitization Conference, with the theme ‘Politics of Sentiments’, Charanchi said sentiment is the only factor militating development in the country’s democracy.
According to him: “This conference is to help us retrace our steps and refocus our energies in the delicate task of nation building to which we are committed to achieving.
“When a multi-ethnic and multi-religious region such as ours faces an increasing crisis of confidence engendered by years of frustration and disappointments, the temptation to seek refuge in the comparative haven of ethnicity and religion is almost obligatory.
‘”When ethnic and religious intolerance replaces tolerance and understanding, the society cannot prosper”, Charanchi said.
He continued: “Religious and ethnic cards are ready weapons in the hands of political failures who cynically exploit and manipulate the ignorant masses of our people towards selfish and undesirable ends. We must stop them, we must free our people from their grip and their indoctrination”.
He added that these problems in the North and by extension the whole Country are traceable to inept and insensitive leadership at all levels, as well as cowardice of some Community and Religious leaders who lack the courage to stand up for them in the interest of the region.
“The Northern voter must look for credible candidates with proven pedigrees, honesty, sense of Nationalism and sound understanding of the current challenges facing the Nation, devoid of religious sentiment, sectionalism and nepotism”, Charanchi said.
On his part, the Plateau State Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Dung Dalyop, who was also a guest at the occasion, called on the Youths in the Country to resist any attempt to be used to cause division, adding that family and friends have become enemies because of politics.
Earlier, the Chairman, Coalition of Northern Groups Plateau State Chapter, Bason Sunday said the conference was organized to sensitize the youths on the need to elect candidates that will ensure a bright and eventful future for them.