Worried by seemingly strange predictions and hyped religious ventilations over political issues in the country, the Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe, has said that such new phenomenon if left unchecked may further create bad blood among Nigerians.

Runsewe disclosed that the current rash of predictive political slants across Nigeria’ s diverse religious and cultural ecosystem threatens the fabric of Nigeria’s peace and security, a time bomb that may blow up the country into pieces.

“It is becoming evident that predictions and not prophecy, is the new game in town. From football to Cricket, wrestling, dancing competitions and lately, politics, some Nigerians who claimed to hear from God, now, oxygenate, escalate and poison the socioeconomic and political space with laughable and troubling positions, not minding the negative impact of such predictive actions on the emotional intelligence of the people,” Runsewe explained further.

Concerned that the rash of predictions all over the country from strange enclaves, particularly on the political front, Runsewe who is also the President, Africa Region, World Craft Council, appealed to Nigerians to ignore the purveyors of such mercantile predictions but hold to the best cultural and religious teachings that binds Nigerians together, and on not issues that may further polarise and set Nigerians against each other.

“We at NCAC are gravely concerned and had in the past, worked together with religious leaders across the divide to restore peace to some troubled parts of the country, from Jos, Kaduna and Abuja. We also networked with our traditional rulers during each celebrations of National Festival of Arts and Culture ( Nafest), to horn the quest to live together in peace and harmony, which engenders national development . When our children were toeing the lines of strange foreign influences, we reached out to our national women societies and groups to nip the process in the bud. We shall also target this avalanche of predictions given a religious face, and arrest its dangerous influence on our once peaceful and tolerant society.

“The tension created by drivers of this predictive vehicles across board is becoming increasingly worrisome. Some young persons unguided have met with untimely death when their football teams, and or iconic diverse players and participants in regional or global entertainment and sports events, so predicted to win, failed in such quests. The predictive melancholy has hit the political space in Nigeria like a Hurricane and every where is charged. We must not as Nigerians allow this unfortunate situation to persist and destroy us. The tribal slurring must also be stopped by all means. As Nigerians, we must unite and line up behind the best religious, cultural and historical narratives that binds us together and nothing more. Our cultural diversity is superior and which entails that we must respect each others cultural sensitivities” Runsewe clarified.

The United Kingdom has said the mission is working on the list of those it will slam with visa ban.

It also said the mission had between five and 10 names on its list already, adding that more would still be added.

The Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, spoke on a current affairs programme on Nigerian Info on Sunday.

He said the names of defaulters would not be published as expected in some quarters.

The British High Commission had last week said the UK Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell MP, was prepared to take action against those who engaged in or incited electoral violence during the just-concluded general elections.

The high commission said the UK was already collating names of perpetrators and would impose sanctions “including preventing people from obtaining UK visas or imposing sanctions under our human rights sanctions regime.”

Speaking on Sunday, Llewellyn-Jones said, “We’re working through a list and we don’t publish those names. I know people say we should but you know we have laws that protect. But we do have a list. We said that we would do this and we will do this. And, you know, we’re gathering the kind of information that would enable us to do this around specific individuals.

“You know, we watched very closely. I was in Lagos the whole time. We had people on the ground in key places. We won’t publish the names. We don’t do that. We can’t do that. We have between five and 10  names on its list already, it is a growing list. “

Responding to a question on if there were triggers for violence leading up from the campaign to the election,  Llewellyn-Jones decried the controversial statement attributed to a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Femi Fani-Kayode.

He also lamented that the ruling APC had yet to distance itself from some comments made by Fani-Kayode.

He said, “There were some people in the news, like Fani-Kayode. What is he saying? Why is he saying it? I don’t understand. I mean, I do understand but it’s wrong. And it’s wrong from my perspective that he would speak on behalf of a party and that party doesn’t just distance themselves but says stop doing that.”

Llewellyn-Jones also condemned the divisive politics that played out during the election in Lagos, adding, ”And if Lagos can’t be that kind of cosmopolitan melting pot of culture and language and all the things that should be, really how’s Lagos going to succeed?”

Reacting on his Twitter handle at @realFFK, Fani-Kayode urged the British envoy to steer clear Nigeria’s issue.

He said, “I would advise this Ben, who I am told is the Deputy High Commissioner of the UK to Nigeria, to keep his dirty nose out of our internal affairs.

“Nigeria stopped being a British colony 63 years ago and we need no lessons from him on how to run our affairs or conduct our politics.”

He also accused the envoy of supporting an undisclosed candidate in the just concluded presidential election.

“I know that his preferred candidate did not win the presidential election but that does not mean he should cross the line and take liberties with us here. I wonder who the hell he thinks he is?

“I am not one of those Nigerians that bow, shake, shiver and tremble before the British or indeed any other foreigner.”

A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Saturday, congratulated the Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, over the reinstatement of his mandate by the Appeal Court.

Frank in a statement in Abuja, also lauded the Justices of the Appeal Court that courageously decided the case and upheld the victory of Senator Adeleke as the duly elected Governor of Osun state, despite attempt by the tribunal to fraudulently upturn the mandate.

He however called on Adeleke to be focused on his development strides by wiping the tears of the people and delivering the state from backwardness now that distraction of the court case has been put to rest by the judgement of the court.

He thanked the Appeal Court justices and by extension the Nigerian judiciary for mustering the courage to uphold the Truth and Justice, saying, “We want to see this in them in other election’s petition cases.”

Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East, urged the Judiciary to know that in areas where they have done well, Nigerians and the world will hail them but when they do wrong, Nigerians will call them out.

He said: “We hope the Judiciary will bring this courage to bare in doing the needful in deciding the Presidential election petition cases now before them.

“The Judiciary must realise that the only hope Nigerians have today is in them. We hope they will not dash that hope.

“We know there will be pressure on them by the powers that be to do the wrong thing, but they must be guided by the bigger picture which is to free the people from exploitation and slavery in taking their final decision.

“History will not forget the Justices that decided the Adeleke Versus Gbeyega Oyetola Appeal for sticking to the truth.

“Despite the oppression, they remained courageous. However, this is not the end of their task. A greater task beckons and that task is to redeem the damaged image and lost glory of the judiciary.

“We believe there still exist some incorruptible judges with good conscience. This is not the time for the judiciary to sell justice. It is time to give justice back to the people.

“Nigerians and the world look forward to the Judiciary to restore the presidential mandate which has once again been stolen from the people the same way they upheld Adeleke’s victory and restored his mandate

“It is an open secret that the Independent National Electoral Commission totally disregarded their own guidelines and did not follow the rule of law during the presidential and National Assembly elections.

“The Justices of the Appeal Court now have the opportunity to write their name in gold by restoring the lost confidence to the judiciary again.

“Majority of Nigerians have in recent time lost hope and confidence in the judiciary but with this judgement the hope and confidence of the people has been rekindled.

“We hope the Judiciary keeps and sustains this renewed confidence now rejuvenated through this courageous judgement.”