By Nigeria’s President MUHAMMADU BUHARI, on August 21, 2017
Special to USAfrica (Houston) • @USAfricaLIVE • @Chido247
My dear citizens, I am very grateful to God and to all Nigerians for their prayers. I am pleased to be back on home soil among my brothers and sisters.
In the course of my stay in the United Kingdom, I have been kept in daily touch with events at home. Nigerians are robust and lively in discussing their affairs, but I was distressed to notice that some of the comments, especially in the social media, have crossed our national red lines by daring to question our collective existence as a nation. This is a step too far.
In 2003 after I joined partisan politics, the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu came and stayed as my guest in my home town Daura. Over two days, we discussed in great depth till late into the night and analysed the problems of Nigeria. We both came to the conclusion that the country must remain one and united.
Nigeria’s unity is settled and not negotiable. We shall not allow irresponsible elements to start trouble, and when things get bad they run away and saddle others with the responsibility of bringing back order, if necessary with their blood.
Every Nigerian has the right to live and pursue his business anywhere in Nigeria without let or hindrance.
I believe the very vast majority of Nigerians share this view.
This is not to deny that there are legitimate concerns. Every group has a grievance. But the beauty and attraction of a federation is that it allows different groups to air their grievances and work out a mode of co-existence.
The National Assembly and the National Council of State are the legitimate and appropriate bodies for national discourse.
The national consensus is that, it is better to live together than to live apart.
Furthermore, I am charging the security agencies not to let the successes achieved in the last 18 months be a sign to relax.
Terrorists and criminals must be fought and destroyed relentlessly so that the majority of us can live in peace and safety.
Therefore, we are going to reinforce and reinvigorate the fight not only against elements of Boko Haram, which are attempting a new series of attacks on soft targets, but also kidnappings, farmers versus herdsmen clashes, in addition to ethnic violence fuelled by political mischief makers. We shall tackle them all.
Finally, dear Nigerians, our collective interest now is to eschew petty differences and come together to face common challenges of economic security, political evolution and integration, as well as lasting peace among all Nigerians.
I remain resolutely committed to ensuring that these goals are achieved and maintained. I am so glad to be home.
Thank you; and may God bless our dear nation.
USAfrica: Buhari warns Nigerians “to question our collective existence as a nation… is a step too far”
#BreakingNews and special reports unit of USAfrica multimedia networks, USAfricaonline.comm USAfricaLive.com and USAfricaTV
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Okay, let us assume he is saying the truth. It however, takes a far sighted and broad minded leader to take Nigeria on the path to unity and ensure the national question is settled once and for all, through the right, civil and modern way….. a REFERENDUM! It is time “Nigerians” of this generation answer the national question, so that we can move forward as a nation. Why are we building new houses? Shouldn’t we have remained in the ones our fathers built? Or probably mud houses? Individually, we all want better conditions and improvement from what our fathers had? So why is it different at the national level? We cannot rely on what Zik or Bello or Awo or anyone at all in the past stayed with, because the conditions today have not even changed, rather they have worsened. Guns and bullets cannot solve this quagmire, it will remain a recurring decimal. We need a true and courageous leader to once and for all settle the national question by a REFERENDUM! And it is more pertinent for people who were forcefully made nationals by the colonialists, and those forcefully made so again by they barrel of the gun. So long as the national question is not answered, Nigeria will have no peace and cannot match on to greatness. We will continue patch patch work. In fact for a country like Nigeria, the law should be amended to allow for this national vote every 50years. Giving room for each generation to make their decision. We need visionary and broad minded leaders that are not afraid to take modern decisions & adapt solutions suitable to our diversity. (Over 250 tribes/ethnic groups with over 500 dialects / languages is not a bean cake). Our current leaders reason like those were they Mandela, would have sacked the whites and Indian South Africans in one fell swoop and destroyed that country. How can unity not be negotiable? Any unity not negotiable is bondage, slavery, self serving and cannot be in the interest of those that so called unity is meant for.
Ojukwu is not here to agree with your story or deny about your meeting with him into the wee hours of another day according to you Mr President Buhari. And threatening nde Igbo for democratically demanding for their rights is not wise to say the least.
Okay, let us assume he is saying the truth. It however, takes a far sighted and broad minded leader to take Nigeria on the path to unity and ensure the national question is settled once and for all, through the right, civil and modern way….. a REFERENDUM! It is time “Nigerians” of this generation answer the national question, so that we can move forward as a nation. Why are we building new houses? Shouldn’t we have remained in the ones our fathers built? Or probably mud houses? Individually, we all want better conditions and improvement from what our fathers had? So why is it different at the national level? We cannot rely on what Zik or Bello or Awo or anyone at all in the past stayed with, because the conditions today have not even changed, rather they have worsened. Guns and bullets cannot solve this quagmire, it will remain a recurring decimal. We need a true and courageous leader to once and for all settle the national question by a REFERENDUM! And it is more pertinent for people who were forcefully made nationals by the colonialists, and those forcefully made so again by they barrel of the gun. So long as the national question is not answered, Nigeria will have no peace and cannot match on to greatness. We will continue patch patch work. In fact for a country like Nigeria, the law should be amended to allow for this national vote every 50years. Giving room for each generation to make their decision. We need visionary and broad minded leaders that are not afraid to take modern decisions & adapt solutions suitable to our diversity. (Over 250 tribes/ethnic groups with over 500 dialects / languages is not a bean cake). Our current leaders reason like those were they Mandela, would have sacked the whites and Indian South Africans in one fell swoop and destroyed that country. How can unity not be negotiable? Any unity not negotiable is bondage, slavery, self serving and cannot be in the interest of those that so called unity is meant for.
Ojukwu is not here to agree with your story or deny about your meeting with him into the wee hours of another day according to you Mr President Buhari. And threatening nde Igbo for democratically demanding for their rights is not wise to say the least.