Don’t set Nigeria on fire, CAN president advises politicians

The President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, has advised politicians to avoid utterances and actions, which are capable of disturbing the nation’s peace.

Ayokunle gave the advice at the 2nd General Assembly of the Inter-faith Dialogue Forum for Peace, with the theme, ‘‘General Elections and National Security: The Role of Inter-faith Communities’’ in Abuja on Wednesday.

‘‘I also want to appeal to politicians not to set the nation on fire because of their personal ambition at the expense of national interest.

‘‘People who don’t have any work outside politics should not be voted into power.

‘‘I want to urge those in government and all politicians to calm down, to avoid breakdown of law and order because of elections.

‘‘Enough is enough on the destruction of our country. Thuggery and any format of electoral violence should be discouraged by all politicians,’’ he said.

He also enjoined politicians not to be desperate to acquire power because leadership was a burden.

The CAN leader said that politicians must respect the rule of law, to enhance peace in the country.

He, however, urged the electorate to vote for people who had something to offer for the advancement of the country.

Ayokunle, therefore, charged the law enforcement agencies to help in building the nation’s democracy by ensuring free, fair and credible elections during the forthcoming general elections.

“Don’t help in installing bad leaders during elections and don’t use your uniforms to do a dirty job by intimidating or preventing voters to discharge their civic responsibilities.

“We don’t want to see or hear such incidences again, if we don’t want to mortgage the future of our children.

“We should not play politics with the security of Nigerians,’’ he said.

He also admonished religious leaders to continue to pray for the country, preach peace and avoid making divisive comments that could disrupt the nation’s peaceful co-existence.

‘‘I want to urge faith communities to continue to pray for Nigeria because the relative peace we are enjoying in this country is because of our constant prayers.’’

The co-Chairman, Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace, Rev. Sunday Onuoha, advised the Federal and state governments to redirect their efforts towards building stronger institutions that would be beneficial to all citizens.

‘‘All institutions, both government and non-government, should be open to dialogue and not close their minds to other opinions or see other opinions as threat, as no one has the monopoly of knowledge,’’ he said.

He urged those who presented themselves for elective positions to be willing to accept the outcome of the elections.