The Global Peace Foundation has called on Nigerian Youths to shun all forms of violence and ensure the 2023 general elections are peaceful.
Presenting a paper at a youth against electoral violence advocacy organised by the Global Peace Foundation, Principal Research Fellow at Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Dr Philip Hayab, said the key role of the youths in the election is to safeguard the electoral process.
“The key role of the youth is to safeguard and ensure that the 2023 general election is violence-free because electoral violence usually derives its vitality from the mass of young people in society.
“To that end, the youth must take their rightful place as critical stakeholders who should be legitimate voters who can make their voices heard.
“Therefore, I call on the youths and sundry to come out en masse to vote for the candidates of their choice, irrespective of their religious, regional, and ethnic backgrounds.
“First, the youths need to reject the temptation of greedy and selfish politicians to deceive them to cause any form of violence. Additionally, security agencies need to be fully ready to curtail the excesses of overzealous individuals vulnerable to being hired to carry out electoral violence,” Hayab said.
On what the youths should do, Hayab said the youth must realise that they are one family under God.
“The youth should vote for only political candidates with important programmes that could better their lives, irrespective of their parties.”
“The youths must consider the future of society, children, and the old ones above self, and the now.
“Youths must be involved in advocacy in their localities to create awareness that an election is not a one-day affair and should not degenerate into violence.
“The youth must desist from clannish politics. The issues bordering on origin, faith. The youth desist from drug abuse in society, create awareness about the electoral process.
“Candidates to be voted must prove their worth in programmes articulated in their Manifestoes. The youths must avoid the posting of results on social media and allow INEC, the body saddled with the responsibility of conducting an election in Nigeria,” Hayab added.
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