Prof. Oshita Oshita, Director General, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR),has cautioned politicians against making ‘unguarded’ statement capable of jeopardizing peace and unity of the country.
Oshita said this in an interview on Tuesday in Gombe,urging them to be conscious of their utterances as they embark on campaigns for the 2019 general elections.&
He said that hate speech was unnecessary at a time Nigeria needed peace to fast-track development in all sectors.
According to him, campaigns for 2019 elections should not be used as a tool for creating disharmony amongst Nigerians.
“Hate speech is a terrible thing to resort to for a country that seeks unity and peace for development; the existence of Nigeria as a nation rests on the kind of statements politicians use during campaigns.
“Politicians must stop making provocative statements in the course of their campaign ahead of 2019 general elections. Political activities and good governance thrive better when the country is peaceful.
“For a country with huge diversities that require the mobilisation of those diversities to maximise potentials as a nation, hate speech must be jettisoned as it is toxic to our collective existence as a nation,” he said.
Oshita maintained that ”unless there is a country, there cannot be constituency on which any politician could stand to contest elections.”
”Everyone must be careful to know that Nigeria is a platform we must all guard jealously.
“So when we speak, we must be mindful of our utterances so we do not end up inciting people to do things that would not augur well for the nation,’’ he said. (NAN)
