By Seye Olumide, Ibadan
Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has called on Nigerians to see the coming general elections as a routine contest among brothers, without fear of violence.
The late Frederick Fasehun side of the congress made the comments amid reports in the social media that some Yoruba self-determination groups had put machinery in motion to unleash violence on non-indigenes in Lagos and other South West states during the general elections.
President of the organisation, Wasiu Afolabi, urged citizens to go about their campaigns and voting without fear of harassment, intimidation and violence.
In a statement signed by OPC General Secretary, Bunmi Fasehun, the president warned: “Anyone caught planning to foment trouble or perpetrate violence should be treated as a criminal and handed over to law enforcement agencies for prosecution.
“We cherish the peace we enjoy in the South West today and we shall guard it jealously. OPC has contributed greatly to this peaceful environment and we will do nothing to jeopardise it. Whoever is planning electoral violence, whether he is a Yoruba man or not, will have OPC to contend with. We will not tolerate any plan, attempt or move aimed at intimidating voters or preventing anyone from freely expressing their democratic choice.”
According to him, politics should not be a do-or-die affair; hence, OPC will neither subscribe to do-or-die politics nor be used to implement the nefarious plans of politicians.
“In our midst are responsible businessmen and businesswomen, graduates and artisans, as well as students of higher institutions and Muslim and Christian clergy. Our organisation will not be used for political thuggery before, during or after the elections,” he noted.
Dismissing allegations that some self-determination groups might be planning to unleash mayhem on certain ethnic groups, who might vote against the All Progressives Congress (APC), the OPC leader said: “The security agencies should do their job – hunt down such potential troublemakers and destroy such plans.”
Afolabi urged Lagos and South West politicians to learn from other parts of the country and the world, where people were armed to get individuals into power only for such arms to be used to turn such places into enclaves of war and terrorism.
OPC, he noted, is no stranger to democracy, as its leaders emerged through the democratic process as laid down by Fasehun.
He said: “OPC is a non-religious and non-political Yoruba socio-cultural organisation. Within the organisation, members belong to different political groups. It is their right and no one can dictate to them. OPC respects its members’ individual right to freedom of association and thought.
“Moreover, Yoruba people enjoy fraternal relations with all ethnic groups in the country – Hausa, Igbo, Ijaw, Edo, Tiv and others. We do business together and we have even inter-married. So how can we now attack our in-laws and business partners because of some individuals’ selfish political ambition?”
He recalled that hundreds of OPC members shed their blood to purchase democracy for the country. He added that Fasehun also formed the Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria (CENN) as an umbrella body and platform to promote unity and understanding among the country’s regions.
Suing for peaceful elections, he warned politicians to desist from turning the elections into a battlefield.
“As has always been our prerogative, we shall be extending our hand of fellowship to security agencies to ensure the election is smooth and peaceful,” Afolabi said.
Source: The Guardian