THE Ekiti State Council of Elders has cautioned politicians in the state against tendencies that could erode the unity and love they said had existed among the people of the state.
The group of senior citizens and indigenes if Ekiti state, at a meeting in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, also advised youths to acquire formal education or learn a trade and desist from seeing politics as a profession.
The council’s chairman, Professor Joshua Oluwasanmi, stated while interacting with some of the elderly citizens in the state, stressed the need for the political actors to make peace their watchword and eschew violence a 2018 governorship approaches.
Professor Oluwasanmi said “Ekiti was one during Old Western state and Ekiti parapo war. We are still one until the state was created in 1996. We must ensure that things are done in the right way, and be ready to do things right.”
Oluwasanmi, who cautioned politicians in the state against engaging in violence in the interest of peace and unity of the state, told the senior citizens to educate their children and wards against political thuggery and hooliganism.
He said “Ekiti was one during old western state, Ekiti parapo war and still one until the state was created in 1996. We must be ready to do things right. No political party should be used as an instrument of destruction.”
Senator Ayo Fasanmi, while also addressing the gathering, said Ekiti had a history which all elders has been following till date.
Fasanmi called on all politicians in the state to follow the history of Ekiti, which had been a guiding principle of the people.
He said: “We can only achieve development in the atmosphere of peace. You can belong to any party. Where are we heading in 2018? We have been hearing alot about it but we must be mindful of the legacy we will leave behind.”
Chief Deji Fasuan who described Senator Fasanmi as “the last soldier standing” said he was there during the time of Omo Egbe Odua, Action Group added that he was “steadfast at those hectic times.”
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