The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) and the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere, have urged political leaders to stop throwing tantrums at each other and focus on tackling the problems besetting the country.
Afenifere National Publicity Secretary Jare Ajayi and YCE General Secretary Oladipo Oyewole gave the post yesterday in separate messages to The Guardian in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state.
They expressed their concern over the increasing verbal and physical attacks that are characterizing electoral campaigns in various parts of the country.
Ajayi said political parties and their candidates should focus on issues related to how they will address the myriad of challenges facing the country, rather than statements and actions that border on “unmarketing opponents and possibly causing bodily harm to other people.” .
He noted that verbal attacks emanating from some candidates and their spokespersons were encouraging their unscrupulous supporters to violently attack opponents in a way that could result in bloodshed.
“Candidates and political parties that have good programs to execute would not resort to verbal or physical attacks. We urge political parties and their candidates to focus on the plans they have to end or at least ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians.
“They should let us know that they understand the enormity of the problems we face and that they have solutions to these problems. Mutual self-abuse, whether verbal or physical, must end,” Ajayi further said.
Oyewole, for his part, said: “Throwing tantrums will not make the country grow. For us to move forward, the incoming president needs to focus on the issues and not attack personalities.”
