By Ene Osang
Abuja
The Middlebelt Youth Leaders Forum (MYLF) has raised concerns over what it described as unnecessary inciting statements and attacks against President Muhammadu Buhari by Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose.
The youths accused the governor of fanning the embers of ethnicity warning that the inciting statements by Fayose could heighten ethnic tension in the country.
National secretary body, Comrade Terrence Kwuanu, while addressing a press conference in Abuja, urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to caution Fayose and his Rivers state counterpart, Nysome Wike from promoting hate speeches.
“The last quarter of 2016 was full of too many deliberate plots by these ethnic warlords to provoke the peace of the over 250 other ethnic groups.
”It is an urgent matter that requires demand for immediate caution and restraint as and any further attempt by these persons who have misplaced their offices for the gutter will be rejected with stiff opposition. Their plot is to divert every attention from their inglorious activities of killing, looting, stealing and mismanagement of taxpayers’ money in their states.
“He had made several spurious accusations in the days and hours preceding his latest attack. We observed that these comments and behaviour increased in intensity and frequency after a phone recording in which both men were discussing the roles they played in committing crimes of rigging the parliamentary re-run elections in Rivers state where security agents were assassinated at will on Wike’s orders.
“The mindless harsh criticisms are apparently aimed at distracting the nation, particularly the people of Rivers and Ekiti states, from the grievous crimes committed by both men and possibly forestall the legally natural retribution of impeachment since their acts clearly breach all known laws and the constitution”, he said.
Kwuanu said as much as the crude talks by both men might be ‘politicking’ and games to their minds, the “MYLF is gravely worried as to the consequences of such behaviour on national cohesion and peaceful coexistence even in the short term”.
“The veiled hate speech being promoted by Fayose and Wike is already yielding results on the streets where verbal abuses among Nigerians, had cordially existed before now, has spiked.”
