A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Setonji David in Badagry, Lagos, has, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) insisted that hate speech promoters should stop.

Urging the Federal Government to deal with those guilty of such, he said:

“It is unfortunate that we have to descend to this level in our political development.

“The growing rate of hate speeches portend dangers for everyone of us in the sense that we have seen it happen in other parts of the world.

“We have seen it happen in Rwanda; it was the hate speeches that ignited the genocide in Rwanda.

“So, hate speeches are not in our interest at all; we are human beings and we need to treat one another with dignity.

“What those behind hate speeches should know is that when the problem starts, it will consume everybody including themselves; it is like a wild fire that consumes everything, not looking at who is who.

“The Federal Government should go after those behind hate speeches and bring them to justice so as to serve as a deterrent to others”.

“This kind of thing emboldens the criminals if not arrested and punished; they should not think they are above the law.

“What is happening shows that some people feel that they are above the law and the moment people start sensing that we are not equal in the land, then, there is a problem,” he added.

“The recent development tells us that there are issues to discuss.

“We need to negotiate our togetherness; we can’t say our unity is not negotiable; yes, we want to live together but let us discuss issues that are threatening our togetherness.

“We can’t continue to pretend as if there is no problem, the earlier we renegotiate the better,” the lawmaker said.

Previous reactions: 

• From the People’s Democratic party (PDP): “In case Lai Mohammed has forgotten, let us remind him and his parties, the ACN and the APC that in their desperate quest to grab power by all means, organised and carried out a series of campaigns of calumny as the opposition designed to mislead the public, discredit the person and office of past PDP-led administrations especially, that of the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in order to cause disaffection amongst Nigerians against his government… President Buhari had also made hate speeches that caused wide spread violence and killings of Nigerians in the 2011 general elections.”
• Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, “We must control and insist that people don’t make utterances that are capable of disrupting the peace.”
• Former Ghanaian President, Jerry John Rawlings urged Nigerians to stop the ethnic war and help each other so as to co-exist peacefully in harmony.
• APC chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun said, “We cannot sit idle and watch a few disgruntled individuals destroy our democracy, and God forbid, the nation that we all fought hard to achieve and build. “This is why we must all rise, regardless of our political differences and condemn these ugly and shameful acts with one voice.”