17th April, 2019
Mrs Yomi Olasinde, the Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Osun, has called on politicians and candidates, who lost in the last general elections to embrace peace to move the state and country forward.
Olasinde made the call on Tuesday in Osogbo at a one-day sensitisation programme, organised by the agency to curb post-election violence and promote discipline, unity and patriotism among Nigerians.
She said that the programme was aimed at fostering a society devoid of enmity, division, and violence.
The director said that although there were no cases of violence recorded in the state during the last general elections, it was important for residents of the state to maintain the peace being enjoyed.
Olasinde said that there were many ways through which the people could reject whoever they considered to have assumed the position of leadership through the back door, instead of resorting to violence.
“We all know as a fact that electoral contest, is almost like religion, which brings out a lot of passion and It is imperative for everyone to imbibe the virtues of integrity, maturity, patience, feelings for fellow man.
“In some cases, the populace may legally recall some erring leaders through the constitutional process either by recall or impeachment as the case may be.
“The rationale for having such constitutional process such as elections, recalls and impeachment is to ensure orderliness in the running of the affairs of the society,” she said.
She advised all stakeholders to embrace peace in their immediate environments to pave way for socio-economic development.
The director also urged parents to always counsel their children on the need to shun any act capable of causing crisis, saying that no society could achieve any meaningful development in an atmosphere of rancour.
Olasinde expressed appreciation for the efforts of policemen and other security operatives to keep the state violence-free and maintain a peaceful environment which the residents had been enjoying.
She, however, called on residents to be security conscious, urging them to take note of any strange faces walking aimlessly within their communities and report such to the nearest police station.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Mrs Abiodun Ige, who was represented by CSP Suleiman Kadri, urged residents to be patriotic and to do their best possible to ensure peaceful co-existence among the citizens.
Ige also urged residents to be security conscious and to always report any suspicious cases and violence to security operatives.