THE Ijaw National Congress (INC) and the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria (FEHN) have cautioned against the rising violent protests in the northern parts of the country over alleged irregularities in the last presidential polls.On behalf of the leadership of the INC, Chief Joshua Benemesia said that those causing the protests should stop and seek better ways of addressing their grievances.According to him, the violent protests were undemocratic and unnecessary. He advised that those responsible for them should approach the issue through legal means as their current action is a show of desperation.Acting President of the INC said the protests were condemnable especially in the light of the fact that the elections conducted so far by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration had been adjudged by international, as well as local observers, as the fairest polls ever conducted in the country.Coordinator of the National Think-Tank, Prof. Steve Azaiki, also in an interview in Yenagoa, called for calm and urged Nigerians to see themselves as one.He said instead of the people to resort to violence, they should look at the success of the electoral process, which had increased the countrys rating in the comity of nations.He especially commended the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega and other members of the Commission for proving to the world that the country could conduct free and fair elections.The think-tank coordinator also expressed confidence in the ability of President Jonathan to operate an all-inclusive government.The FEHN warned that the post-election protests were capable of sending the repentant militants back to the trenches, thereby truncating the amnesty programme.According to a statement by the group, these riots are capable of disintegrating the country as any killings of southerners in the North may be followed by reprisals on the peace-loving people of the North resident in the southern part of Nigeria.FEHN, a non-governmental organisation, preaches ethnic harmony in the country and handles aspects of the Federal Governments amnesty programme, especially where the former militants are trained on non-violence conduct.The group described as sad a situation where while the whole world is celebrating the second free and fair election in the history of the nation, after the June 12 elections of 1994, some people from the northern part of the country are bent on foisting fear, hatred and uninhibited violence on the peace-loving populace of Nigeria.According to the National Chairman of FEHN, Allen Onyema, This is not only unfortunate but also condemnable. We condemn the continuous whipping up of ethnic and religious sentiments by politicians each time they disagree with a process. The violent riots in the North and Abuja are inadvertently an invitation to the transformed Niger Delta militants to resume violent hostilities, a situation that may spell doom for the nation.The statement added that FEHN had been inundated with calls from the erstwhile militants who were worried that the North does not want a Niger Delta President for Nigeria and would do everything to truncate it, adding that the rioters and their sponsors should read the mood of the country and not play into the hands of those who may want the country to go the way of the defunct Soviet Union.We warn that the results of the elections, which proved to be highly free and fair, should not be tampered with in any way. Nothing should also happen to President Jonathan. If any party is seeking relevance or participation in the coming government, such could be done through acceptable political lobbying and consultations and not through bloodshed, the statement added.
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