2019: Group cautions youth against hate speech, violence

A non-governmental organization, Awareness for Good Leadership Peace and Development (AGDPA), has urged the youth to shun all forms of violence during and after the 2019 elections.

The president, Abdullahi Aliyu Katsina, who spoke at the AGDPA campaign against hate speech and violence in Kubwa, Abuja, recently said in order to have peaceful and successful elections in 2019, Nigerians must stand united against hate speech and violence.

He said: “Hate speech is becoming common, more especially in the social media. The 2015 elections were peaceful but there is already crisis in all our political parties even before the 2019 elections.”

He said the platform brought together stakeholders to educate the masses on the effect and consequence of hate speech and violence in order to have a successful election in 2019.

Representing the DPO, Kubwa Police Division, Inspector Lucas F.M, pleaded with the youth to work together with the police to be able to address the issue of violence.

“The task of providing peace is not the task of the government alone, but also the people. We can do this by shunning politicians who initiate acts of violence and reporting any suspicious movement to the police,” he said.

Clement Wasah, a resident of Kubwa said the campaign should also target the politicians and political parties rather than the masses. “It will be useful if the programme can engage the politicians in order to speak to the makers of the hate speech directly, focus more on the elite since they are the ones recruiting youth for violence” he said.  

Mallam Katsina who spoke at the end said, “Our target is the message, it was well sent and well received and we believe it will be taken to the grassroots.”