By OLUWASEUN NUBI

Traditional rulers in Lagos have urged political parties and their candidates to prioritise issue-based campaigns as electioneering begins.

The traditional leaders in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos, urged political candidates to desist from using youths and other groups to foment violence during the electioneering period.

They urged candidates to focus their campaigns on programmes and policies capable of improving the welfare of residents, rather than engaging in personal attacks, intimidation and other activities capable of causing violence.

Chief Fatai Owoyelu, a community leader in Fadare Town, Mile 12, said that political candidates should approach electioneering as an opportunity to win the confidence of voters through peaceful engagement and presentation of their manifestoes.

“My expectation from all the candidates is that they should play the game in a tough but peaceful manner.

“They should try to win the hearts of the people, stick to their mandates and campaign against violence.

“What should concern them is what they have in mind to do for the people and how they intend to improve the welfare of the people.

“The use of thuggery should be totally out of their way. They should also talk to their followers and make them understand that they are going out to campaign and canvass for votes, not to create violence,” Owoyelu said.

He said that traditional rulers and community leaders had a responsibility to continuously engage residents, particularly youths, on the need to maintain peace before, during and after elections.

According to him, political supporters should not blindly follow candidates or allow political differences to destroy existing relationships within communities.

“We must continue to hold meetings with our people in our communities and keep creating awareness about peace.

“People should understand that political candidates are only contesting for offices, and after the election, they will return to their normal lives.

“We have seen situations where supporters fight and even lose their lives because of candidates, only for the politicians to reconcile after the election.

“We should see beyond politics. You can support one candidate and another person can support another candidate. Follow the manifestoes, understand the issues and try to convince people to vote for your candidate. There is no need to fight,” he said.

Owoyelu further urged political candidates to engage directly with residents and listen to their grievances rather than mobilising them for confrontations.

“Where residents have challenges or complaints, there are better ways to address and channel them.

“Candidates should listen to the people, understand their challenges and tell them how they intend to solve those problems,” he said.

On measures to prevent youths from being used for electoral violence, Owoyelu said that community leaders would continue to sensitise residents on the consequences of violence.

He appealed to youths to resist from being used as political thugs, stressing that they would bear the consequences long after the politicians had moved on.

On the role of security agencies, Owoyelu urged the personnel to remain neutral and professional throughout the electoral process.

“I would encourage security officers to be as objective as possible. They took an oath to protect the lives and property of all Nigerians, not the lives and property of any political party.

“A supporter of Party A, Party B or Party C is a taxpayer. Therefore, security personnel must close their eyes and ears to negative influences from political gladiators and remain neutral,” he said.

Owoyelu also appealed to residents to regard security personnel as partners in maintaining peace, while reporting misconduct through appropriate channels rather than confronting officers.

“The people should also see security men as their friends and part of the community. If you notice any security personnel doing something wrong, report it to the appropriate authority.

“But the people should not be hostile to security personnel because the way we relate with them also matters. We must manage situations properly and avoid actions that could escalate into chaos,” he said.

Similarly, the Chairman, Lagos State Baales Forum, Chief Joseph Keshinro, called on political parties and candidates to make peaceful campaigns a priority, urging them to discourage their supporters from engaging in acts capable of disrupting the peace of communities.

Keshinro said that traditional institutions remained important stakeholders in the electoral process because of their closeness to the people and their ability to mediate disputes at the grassroots.

According to him, traditional rulers should use their platforms to preach peace, encourage political tolerance and ensure that political differences do not divide communities.

He urged candidates to respect traditional institutions and work with community leaders, residents and security agencies to identify and address potential flashpoints before they degenerated into violence.

The chairman said that political parties should also avoid recruiting youths for violent activities, noting that such actions could have long-term consequences for the communities.

He said that traditional leaders would continue to engage political actors and residents through meetings and community sensitisation programmes to promote peaceful participation in elections.

Keshinro urged residents to vote according to their convictions and resist pressure from political actors to engage in violence.

He also called on security agencies to maintain professionalism and impartiality, saying that their actions could either strengthen public confidence in the electoral process or undermine it.

Keshinro said that effective collaboration among traditional institutions, political parties, candidates, residents and security agencies was essential to preventing election-related violence.

The traditional leader maintained that elections should be seen as a means of choosing leaders and not an avenue for communities to turn against one another.

He, therefore, appealed to all stakeholders to place the peace, security and development of Lagos communities above partisan interests ahead of the elections. (NAN)