The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has described the incident that led to the death of two students in the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, as a “national indictment”.
The Student Union Government (SUG) election of the Auchi Polytechnic, which took place during the weekend, ended in chaos as thugs allegedly evaded the election ground to reportedly snatch ballot boxes and other election materials. This reportedly led to a free-for-all fight.
A video Peter Obi shared on his Facebook page this evening, July 7, showed students running for their lives as security operatives used teargas to bring the situation under control.
Reports from the Nation Newspaper and Punch confirmed that at least two people died in the incident while several others were left with different degrees of injuries.
In reaction to the incident, Peter Obi wrote: “The society we abuse today will eventually take its toll on our children, because they will only learn by our example. Everything we are experiencing in our country today is a reflection of the decay of civility and orderliness.
“When we choose to conduct both our public and personal lives with bad behaviour and rascality, we normalise bad behaviour, lawlessness, and criminality.
“I watched a heartbreaking video that showed students in Auchi Polytechnic in Edo State running for their lives as they were being shot at during their student election yesterday which left 2 students dead and several injured.
“The question is: Where did they learn it from?
“Are they cursed, or are we the political leaders who are cursed?
“When we have chosen to “fight, snatch it, grab it, and run with it” how can we expect our children to do it rightly and democratically when they have learned from us?
“This is not just disgraceful, it’s a national indictment. When we, the leaders, have chosen to fight, snatch, grab and run with it, our children have learned similar and rascality is now a normal situation.
“It is now up to us, the leaders, to learn how to restore civility, order, and core values in our society by ensuring that our character and behaviour reflect the change we seek in our society.
“We must do better, for our students, for our children, and for our country.”
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