The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) has raised concerns about the just concluded 2023 elections and noted that Nigeria, as well as other nations, cannot attain its developmental aspirations when the elites are divided.
While speaking earlier in Abuja during a programme themed ‘Culture, Peace and National Rebirth: An Agenda Setting’, the Director-General of the NCAC, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, criticized some of the events that happened during the 2023 general elections.
Runsewe observed that Nigerian elites were divided along sentimental cleavages of religion and ethnicity, as seen in the 2023 elections.
The NCAC boss charged Nigerians not to allow the election outcome to create disunity among them. He said since the civil war, Nigerians had never been more polarised along primordial and parochial lines than in the 2023 general elections.
According to Runsewe, the tension, bitterness, resentment and acrimonies during the 2023 electioneering campaigns further fueled the embers of distrust and disunity among Nigerians.
Meanwhile, a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has warned youths who are supporters of various political parties to desist from social media fights as it will not influence the outcome of the election petition tribunal.
He urged netizens to embrace peace instead for the good of the country.
Speaking via a post on Twitter, the PDP stalwart advised Nigerians to chart a course of action that would benefit the country.
He argued that the only hope for a change in who the next president will be is in court.
Omokri noted that the election brought about different factions, such as Obidients and BATists, but now that the election has ended, everyone must return to their original identity as Nigerians.
He wrote, “Realise and accept that elections are over. The only hope for a change in who the next President will be is the courts.
“Fighting supporters of other parties on social media won’t affect the judicial outcome. So, let us heal and behave like human beings with a common destiny.
“The election brought about identities like Obidients, BATists, and Kwankwasiyya.
“Now, we need to step out of that limited circle and resume our original identity as Nigerians. Instead of abuse, let us amuse each other. Rather than curse, let us chart a new cause.”
