Nigerian governors say those advocating for a
separate country are wasting their time.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is in the
frontline of the struggle to carve out a country out of
Nigeria.
But the governors appealled to citizens to embrace
peace, saying they do not want the country to witness
a hate war like Rwanda did.
In 1994, Hutu militias in Rwanda killed at least
800,000 Tutsi in a purge driven by hate. The incident
is widely described as a genocide.
The governors made this appeal against the
background of rising ethnic tension fuelled by
secessionist agitations in the south-east and an
eviction threat to the Igbo by Arewa youth groups.
Speaking with state house correspondents at the end
of a meeting called by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo
as part of consultations for peace, Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo
state governor, who spoke on behalf of the governors,
said the unity of Nigeria was sacroscant.
“It has been unanimously agreed that the unity of this
country is sacrosanct, it is non-negotiable and we
have all agreed to work together to educate people,”
he said.
“Any time you have agitation, usually there will be
poverty, there will be unemployment, there will be
hardship. So, we should address fundamentally these
areas of poverty, unemployment and hardship.
“Nigerians are by nature a united people; nobody cares
whether you are from the north, south or the east.
“There unity must be there and we cannot play with
the unity of this country. The consensus has been that
there must be unity.
“The message is for Nigerians to work more together
and collaborate. We have more to gain when we are
united. We cannot afford to break, and anybody is
thinking of that is wasting his time and we will not
allow it, not in this country. All of us are unanimous
about that.
“To you the media look for what unites us and not
sensational news. If we fight everybody will lose, have
you ever seen a country that fought a civil war and
remained the same? We don’t want to be another
Rwanda and Somalia and all these places. The
government is doing its best.”
TheCable
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