The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has urged Nigerians to desist from making hateful utterances, warning that such speeches could lead to war.
The Minister gave the warning while speaking at the “Lai Mohammed 10th Annual Ramadan Lecture” held in his country home, Oro, Kwara.
Mohammed urged Nigerians not to pay heed to those who engaged in hate speeches, as well as their purveyors.
He said: “In the last couple of months, we have witnessed the increase of inflammatory and hate speeches.
“Hate speeches have been responsible for wars. Rwandan genocide where more than 800,000 people were killed was started by hate speeches.
“Like people say, wars are not really started by bullets, they are started by words of mouth.
“Nigeria is too big and God has a purpose for making us one and we shall remain united.
“There will be differences, but like the Yoruba says, “Ori bibe ko ni ogun ori fifo” (beheading is not antidote to headache).
“We have been living together peacefully and we will continue to live together, because we have a lot to gain by being united.
“If there is war today, none of us will escape whether you are young or old whether you are Yoruba, Igbo of Hausa.”
