President Muhammadu Buhari has alerted Nigerians on the activities of some politicians using campaign arena to propagate their hateful agenda.
The president stated this when he received a group known as the National Network for Community and Youth Development (NNCYD) led by its chairman, Board of Trustees, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday.
He, therefore, urged Nigerians to ignore such people as they meant no good for the country.
Buhari enjoined all Nigerians, irrespective of their socio-political affiliations, to continue to preach tolerance and peaceful co-existence ahead of the 2019 general election.
“The fact that you are crossing religious, political and ethnic boundaries in your engagements is praise worthy.
“Now, we are in the season of political campaigns;unfortunately some people will attempt to take this opportunity to propagate their hateful agenda.
“Therefore, it is our collective responsibility to also step up by preaching tolerance and understanding.
“As a government, we are doing our best but we need non-governmental organisations like the National Network for Community and Youth Development to also support us in delivering the message of peace and unity, after all, we only have one Nigeria, our only country,’’ he said.
The president also highlighted the dangers involved in spreading fake news through the social media, which he said was meant to reshape the world.
He said: “In the past decade the world has seen some fundamental structural changes. A good example is the digital and cyber revolution that is still reshaping the world as we all know.
“In many instances, this development positively impacts billions across the globe.
“However, on the contrary, the same platforms are used as tools to propagate divisions and hatred. Nigeria is not isolated from these influences.
“We are seeing rising instances where social media platforms are being used to propagate hatred, through religious, political and tribal groups.
“These spiteful message that incite violence and are posted by a handful of unpatriotic people anonymously.’’
The President, who commended the group for its good work, said the nation needed more of such good groups in order to promote peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding among citizens of the country.
In his remarks, the board chairman of NNCYD, Yayale Ahmed, said the National Network for Community and Youth development aimed at enlightening citizens of the country on the need to “love one another, love the country and identify with good governance.”
He said the group had since identified President Buhari as a champion of integrity and it would continue to support him.
Ahmed, a onetime Secretary to the Government of the Federation, urged the president to maintain the ongoing fight against corruption `in spite the fact that corruption is seriously fighting back’.
He expressed the hope that the president’s ongoing campaign against corruption would be successful with the support of few who were committed to the fight.
