Quit notice ill wind that blows no good – PDP
By Abdullahi M. Gulloma and
Emeka Nze, Abuja
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has asked governors to address the lingering agitations for secession and threats to some ethnic nationalities in their respective states.
The directive came as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, declared that the quit notice to Igbo in the North, is an ill wind that will blow nobody any good.
Speaking at the opening session of a consultative meeting with the governors on the secession threat by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and the quit notice served by some youth for Igbo resident in the North, Osinbajo said there’s the need for the governors to speak more forcefully to counter divisive speeches and war mongering in their states.
The Acting President also called on the governors and other leaders in the country, to resist the temptation of playing politics with matters of security and avoid adopting simplistic narratives that might be expedient and satisfying.
He said. “We must not allow the careless use of words, careless expressions that may degenerate into crisis. We are a people that like to talk and we express ourselves loudly but it is expected for us to recognise that it is those same words that can cause conflagration that can unfortunately lead to calamity.
“We must be careful of how we express ourselves. What we have seen in recent times is that some of the languages used have tended to degenerate badly, and I think that we must begin to speak up against some of these things and ensure that we protect our democracy and our nation from the hands of rhetoric that may just divide us.
“From all of the consultations, we have had all agreed on certain issues. We agreed that Nigeria’s unity should not be taken for granted, no one wants to see us go the path of bloodshed or war.”
Continuing, he said: “We also agreed on the permanency of the Nigerian constitution, that 1999 constitution is the basis for our unity. It is the basis for the legal contract that exists between all of us. Our meetings were frank and open as I hope this will be. We were able to agree on most of the critical issues that were discussed and in most cases changed perceptions that may have been long embedded in their minds.
“We also agreed that under no circumstances should we condone hateful speeches, and that government should take all steps necessary to bring to book all those who preach violence, in particular the kind of expressions of dissent that can cause violence.
“We also agreed that we need to do more to engage our youth productively, create some jobs, and multiply the economic opportunities available. More importantly, we agreed on the need for leaders to speak out forcefully to counter divisive speech or any kind of war mongering.”
The Acting President said leaders from the North and the South-east that attended the consultative meetings were unanimous that even though some of these agitations are fair, there was the need for the government to draw a line between orderliness and disorderliness and bring down dissenting voices and hate speeches that could degenerate to crises.
“We agreed that leaders at all levels speak out forcefully against any kind of divisiveness or divisive speech. And we expect that our political leaders will do so without waiting to be prompted. All of those who spoke felt that sometimes when leaders do not speak up promptly, it always results in degeneration, no matter what the problem may be.
“This applied to both the statement made by the young people in the South-east as well as the youth in the Northern states. We discovered there was a need for much greater resonance in the way that these things are done and for the leaders to speak up more forcefully.
“We believe that if the leaders do not speak up forcefully enough, if for any reason matters are allowed to degenerate, not only does leadership lose their legitimacy, they run the risk of things going completely out of control.
Speaking to the State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Abiola Ajumobi of Oyo state, said the governors do not want the country to become another Rwanda or Somalia, hence the need to address the root cause of agitations – poverty, unemployment andhardship.
“It has been unanimously agreed that the unity of this country is sacrosanct, is non-negotiable and we have all agreed to work together to educate people. 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. The 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 who 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,” he said.
Appealing to the media for caution, Ajumobi said, “look for what unites us and not sensational news. If we fight everybody will lose. Have you ever seen a country that fought civil war and remain the same? We don’t want to be another Rwanda and Somalia and all these places. The government is doing its best,” the governor added.
PDP cautions
In a related development, the National Caretaker Committees (NCC) of PDP, has thrown its weight behind the current bid for country’s restructuring, but noted that the framework for its implementation had to be worked out and agreed upon.
At a world press conference yesterday on the state-of- the nation, Chairman of the committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, described the rift between some sections of the country which degenerated to the issuance of quit notice and counter quit notice as “an ill wind that blows no good.”
“We, however, observe the restructuring could mean a different thing to different people. It is therefore important that we consider the framework within which we can even discuss and be on the same page as to what kind of restructuring we mean or desire; and if nationally accepted, agree on frame work for its implementation.
“The recent altercation between some of our people which degenerated into the issuance of ultimatum and counter ultimatum for some of us to leave certain areas is an ill wind that blows no good, more so that we have a sad history of not so dissimilar circumstances that we had better not allow a repeat. Hate speeches either coming from the North, South, East or West must be avoided and be condemned by all of us.
“As Nigerians and a people, we cannot run away from talking to one another, but this should be on the basis of mutual respect, confidence and even empathy. This will enable us to have a proper understanding of the feelings and yearnings of each other and properly appreciating where we all are coming from, as individual groups and as a whole.
“The most worrisome of all the challenges confronting Nigeria, recently, are not the agitations and counter agitations that have been occupying our space, but the manner in which they are being made.
“The PDP believes that in any democratic space, allowance must be made for people to express grievances and agitate for the redress of such; this is a vital ingredient that sustains democracy and the rule of law.”
He noted that while in power, the PDP provided platforms like the 2005 National Political Reform Conference as well as the 2014 National Conference forums, for the expression and dissipation of feelings, with a view to finding common grounds among the people.
