Posted by Advocacy for Advancement of Peace and Harmony in Africa Initiative (ADAPHAI) has criticized Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar for his comment.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Sulaimon Suberu, the group said it was saddened by a recent statement attributed to the PDP presidential candidate that riled up some people in Nigeria against candidates from other parts of the country.
ADAPHAI said that sectional feelings and ethnic scheming are not only old-fashioned and narrow-minded, but that they also put Nigeria’s fragile corporate structure and survival at risk.
“As a leading civil society organization whose job it is to promote peaceful coexistence and a culture of nonviolence among communities in Africa, we were shocked by a recent statement attributed to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, inciting a part of the country against candidates from other parts of Nigeria.
“Indeed, Nigeria, as the largest democracy in Africa and the most populous black country in the world, has a huge responsibility to be an example of peacebuilding and democratization in Africa through responsible leadership, not leadership that favors one group over another.
“Based on our analysis of what the statement meant, it showed that the PDP’s presidential candidate is not only an ethnic irredentist, but also an unrepentant political obscurantist who likes to divide Nigerians along ethnic and religious lines.
“Without sugarcoating it, Nigeria’s current state of insecurity and ethnic polarization needs a genuine and sincere leader with a national perspective and a cohesive orientation who can bring together and accommodate everyone’s interests and goals, not a politician who focuses on ethnic and religious differences,” the statement said.
So, ADAPHAI asked Nigerians to be careful and watchful during the process of choosing leaders in the 2023 presidential election.