Vice President Yemi Osinbajo Osinbajo, on Monday, in Kuru, Plateau State, warned that Nigeria’s leadership elites, in their contest for power, must not toy with prejudices that alienate or divide any section of the country.

Rather, they should embody a high sense of responsibility that will build a new Nigeria with justice, equity and shared prosperity.

“The leadership elites have a duty to conduct themselves with a high sense of responsibility even as they prosecute their contest for power,” the VP said when he spoke at the maiden Policy Making and Good Governance Lecture Series of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Plateau State.

The Senior Special Assistant the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement he signed late Monday titled ‘Leaders don’t have the luxury of toying with prejudice in a contest for power, it’s a threat to our democracy, Osinbajo warns.

He also noted that beyond the stipulations of the law, there are lines that cannot be crossed in the pursuit of political power.

“One of such lines is the willful exploitation of sectional sentiments and the invocation of ethnic antipathies to mobilise a political constituency.

“It is dangerous because it is an attempt that seeks to mobilize by fostering division and hatred,” the VP said.

Osinbajo condemned reported attempts in some parts of the country where some Nigerians were denied their right to vote in the last elections.⁣

He said, “These elections witnessed the exploitation by political actors of the fears and anxieties of people about so-called outsiders.

“Any attempts to deny people the right to vote in any locality on the basis that they do not belong in that place is condemnable in the strongest possible terms.”

He reasoned that Nigeria’s Constitution condemns discrimination against people based on their identity.

According to Osinbajo, the old generation is much more accustomed to political mobilisation based on identity. However, that generation must pave the way for the new Nigeria.

“We must ennoble and validate Nigeria that our young people are consciously or unconsciously building. This is the future we want.

“The only thing that grows in a climate of tribal hatred is poverty. This is why justice, healing and a stronger commitment to the ideals of integration are so important.

“Let us never forget that although we may speak different languages, belong to different tribes and profess diverse creeds; we are bound, above all else, by the language of a shared hope, by our common humanity as Nigerians, and a supreme faith in the possibility of our country,” he said.

In separate remarks, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, and the Gbong Gwom Jos, Jacob Buba, thanked the Vice President for his steadfastness and interest in uplifting academic standards at the National Institute.

On his part, the Director-General of NIPSS, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, assured the Vice President of the management’s commitment to always maintain the high standards set before them, especially in making the Institute Nigeria and Africa’s foremost think-tank.

After the lecture, the Vice President and other dignitaries inaugurated the newly built quarters for Nigeria Army participants at the Institute.

Also present at the event were the Deputy Governor of Plateau, Prof. Sonni Tyoden; the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Yakubu Sanda; the Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos, Prof. Tanko Ishaya, and the General Officer Commanding, 3 Armoured Division, Nigeria Army, Maj-Gen. Abdul Ibrahim, who represented the Chief of Defence Staff, among others.