Brass—Less than three weeks to the general elections, a revered traditional ruler in Bayelsa State, His Royal Highness Samuel I. Sambo has urged candidates and other political stakeholders to shun violence.
In a statement released to newsmen on Wednesday, Sambo said previous elections have been characterized by violence and other sad occurrences which threaten the Nigeria’s democracy.
Sambo, who is the paramount ruler of Sambo-Ama in Twon Brass Kingdom, recalled how his nephew and another youth were killed in the build-up to the 2019 elections.
“The unfortunate incident left their children, family members and friends despondent, up till this moment.
“I cannot wish such a horrible loss to even my enemy (which I don’t have). I do not want a repeat of such a barbaric act in any part of Nigeria. Neither will I be comfortable reading such in the news media.
“It is against this backdrop that I call on political candidates and other stakeholders not to aid and abet violent activities with the hope of winning elections,” he said.
Sambo opined that youths who are vulnerable are mostly the perpetrators of electoral violence, and they equally end up as victims, declaring that “violence no longer brings victory at the polls as we had in the past.”
According to him, “votes now determine who wins and loses in an election and it will be futile and foolish for any Nigerian politician to adopt violence as a strategy in the nearing elections.”
The monarch enjoined Nigerian youths, regardless of region and religion, not to allow themselves to commit violence and other electoral offences by candidates whose children, he insists, are having a good time somewhere else.
