The AID Foundation, a non-governmental organisation promoting good governance, has cautioned Nigerians against making unguided utterances and hate speech over the issues arising from the collation of the Presidential and national Assembly Election results.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Mr Emmanuel Bonet, who made the call in a statement in Kaduna, urged Nigerians to remain calm and patient.
Bonet applauded electorate for conducting themselves peacefully during the elections.
He warned that the social media rhetoric and actions amongst others show early warning signs of a route that may not help the already tense atmosphere.
According to him, this must be checked as we await the results and a build up to the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections.
“We understand that this is a time of great anticipation and excitement, but we must also remember to be mindful of our words and actions.
“As we wait for the results, it is important to also remember that the outcome of the election is not the end of the process, but the beginning of a new chapter in our nation’s history.
“Our emotions must not get the better of us, to the extent of resorting to violence or other forms of intimidation.
“If there is one thing that we must do together irrespective of political party affiliations, it is to ensure that peace is sustained,” he said.
The executive director stressed that achieving peace at this moment would require those announced as winners to be humble in their celebration (utterances and actions) of victory.
He also urged those that were defeated to remain calm, and if felt cheated, gather all their evidence, and seek redress in accordance with the law.
This, he said, they can do without engaging in any form of hate speech or other forms of inflammatory rhetoric.
“We call on religious leaders to use their platforms to speak against hate speech and violent conduct.
“We must all work together to create a more peaceful and tolerant Nigeria.
“We also call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to use this opportunity to win back the trust of the people by doing its best in addressing citizen’s expectations.
“Most of all, INEC should work towards delivering the will of the people to strengthen the democratic process,” Bonet said.
Source – NAN