As the 2023 general election draws near, a group under the aegis of Nasarawa State Social Media Influencers has admonished youths in the state against engaging themselves in political violence.
Political violence is the use of power or force to intimidate the citizens in order to achieve political goals.
Speaking in Lafia on Thursday during an awareness campaign against political violence, the chairman of the group, Aliyu Orah, said the campaign was to enlighten youths to resist the temptation of being used by desperate politicians to cause violence during the 2023 general elections.
He said, “Thuggery is an aspect of social violence which is devastating to Nigeria’s democracy. There have been reports in past elections that thugs moved mostly in groups to victimise, terrorise, intimidate and injure innocent voters and politicians in the state.
“And some of our elites are responsible for recruiting and training the thugs to serve their selfish interests of maintaining and controlling political powers.
“But we do not want the ugly trend to continue that is why we decided to embark on this awareness campaign to advise youths across the 13 Local Government Areas of the state to resist the temptation of being used by politicians as tools for destruction during the forthcoming elections in 2023.”
Orah, while admonishing the youths against thuggery, explained that the essence of elections was for the citizens to elect good leaders into office who would ensure steady growth and development of the state.
“Election is not war. So, we should eschew all forms of religious, ethnic and political violence. Instead of engaging in violence, the youths should take advantage of the Not-Too-Young-To Run Bill to seek elective positions in 2023”, Orah added.
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