Muritala Ayinla 
Renowned Islamic scholar, Nigerians should vote for only candidate with the capacity to move the nation forward, saying only faithful leaders should be voted. The renowned cleric also discarded the consideration for religion by some Nigerians, saying that the situation in the country does not warrant such , especially when most of the politicians and aspirants are not as religious as they appear to be. The fearless Islamic preacher and missionary Ansar-Ud-Deen society of Nigeria, Sheikh Muyideen Ajani Bello, has called on Nigerians to ignore religious sentiment and vote for leaders with good character.
Speaking during an exclusive interview with New Telegraph, the Islamic scholar said Nigerians should elect leaders with good track records. He said: “When talking of religion, we should discard religion in consideration for their qualification or credibility. None of them is religious. They hardly worship God, for that reason, we can no longer consider them based on their faith.
What we have left to consider is: who among them is a good man and which zone is next? These should be the considerations, I think Nigerians should lookout for. “Therefore, as far as religion is concerned, none of them is religious, they shouldn’t deceive people with religion. What we want and pray for is the righteous one, who will help move the nation forward.” On the situation of things in the country, Sheikh Bello said that politicians have no power to enrich anyone. The Sheikh added: “Politicians aren’t the one to make us rich or make our lives change, if there is problem in the country, we are all responsible for it. Most of us are not righteous.
Any wealth garnered through illicit or fraudulent means will eventually perish and such wealth will be accursed. “Nigerians are largely responsible for the situation in the country; our conduct is not good enough. We all need to turn to Allah repent and seek forgiveness over our attitude in this country, ” he said.
Sheikh Bello, however, said that the panacea for the current economic and security situation is for everyone to follow the ways of Allah in their undertakings. “The way out is to return to Allah, Allah SWT says in the Quran that once you are confused or in a state of confusion, go back to him, pray and all of us must begin to be faithful and truthful in our conduct everywhere and anywhere. We are the cause of the problems we are all facing. The faithful ones are scarce if at all they exist. Our conduct and that of our politicians are responsible for the current situation in the country.”