Former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has lamented that poor governance is currently fuelling disunity in the country.
Atiku, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 election, spoke at a national lecture organized by Arewa Media and Development Forum held in Kaduna yesterday, Thursday, November 4, 2021, as Guest of Honour.
He however said the country could overcome its challenges through fairness and equity in the treatment of all Nigerians.
“The only way for Nigeria to get out of the trap is to unite, flap their wings together and fly away” from what he described as “the danger zone”.
Speaking on the theme: ‘Unity in Diversity’ as delivered on his behalf by Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, Atiku insisted that all Nigerians are equal and are supposed to be treated equally.
He said, “I don’t see any Nigerian as Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba. When I see you, I see you as a Nigerian and I expect the best from you. That is why I didn’t select where I should marry from. I married women from diverse backgrounds because I don’t look at their backgrounds.
“I only see them as wonderful Nigeria women. My children have brothers and sisters from different backgrounds and that is why I am confident that a strongly united Nigeria is possible. I made it happen in my family.
“All Nigerians are equal and are supposed to be treated equally; therefore unity is not about homogeneity but it is by accepting the diversity in differences between us, not using these differences as a yardstick in judging others. This kind of unity cannot be achieved by accident there must be strategic efforts to promote unity.
“Language is another primary source of disunity, that is why I recommend a national law to mandate every Nigerian to speak one more language from another region of the country, so that we can connect and appreciate things we share in common.
“We should have policy to mandate public servants, youth corps members to learn one more Nigerian language from a region other than the one they come from. That way we can strengthen our unity.
“It is only through unity that we can surmount and overcome our challenges. We all face a common enemy. We need to fight this common enemy because this enemy will not spare anybody.
Atiku added, “Our common enemies do not recognize who is from the South or North, Muslim or a Christian. If we stand divided we will be trapped by the enemy. We can only escape if we work together and its just like a story of Pigeon in the ancient world.
“Unity is your strength, as long as you stay united no harm can come our way. Just like the pigeons we are all trapped in the net of poverty, insecurity, backwardness and bad governance and the only thing that can save us from this trap is unity.
“I invite all Nigerians to flap our wings together and fly away from danger zone and get rid of this traps. This can only happen if we can vote for that kind of wise party, you can see our potentials, the choice is in your hands.”
On his part, the Akwa Ibom helmsman, Udom Emmanuel, expressed concern that the bane of Nigeria’s unity is nepotism.
Emmanuel noted that there was more diversity than unity among Nigerians nowadays compared to time past when every Nigerian could win election irrespective of ethno-religious and regional backgrounds.
The governor, who was Guest Speaker at the lecture, declared: “we need a nation as a melting pot, where the identities remain but the flavours blend, where, as the first stanza of our former National Anthem so emotionally enjoined, “though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand”.
He lamented that the last few years had seen Nigeria more divided than at any other time in recent history.
“What we see nowadays is a country where ethnic champions drive the narrative, and the cacophony of discordant voices make it difficult for us to hear ourselves.
“This has been given expression in the numerous calls for restructuring, resource control and even an outright division of the country along ethnic and tribal lines.
“Several reasons have been adduced for this state of affairs. Many individuals and groups have taken umbrage at the over-centralization of power at the centre, perceived marginalization of some parts of the country.
“These are sore points that give fillip to the agitations for balance and equity in the country.
“We cannot afford to run a country where some parts of our country feel marginalized or left out of the scheme of things as this is a potent threat to the unity of the country.
“We must ensure that there is equity and justice and that no part of the country is made to feel less of it as this will definitely not augur well for our union,” the governor declared.
