BREAKING: We’ll no longer tolerate agitations for Nigeria’s breakup – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has warned those causing disaffection among Nigerians and calling for the dismemberment of the country to desist from doing so or face severe consequences for their actions.
In a nationwide broadcast on Monday after returning back home from medical vacation in London that lasted for about 103 days, the President said federal government would deal decisively with promoters of hate speech and those causing ethnic tension in the country.
The President said the agitators for the creation of independent states out Nigeria “have crossed our national red lines by daring to question our collective existence as a nation. This is a step too far.”
He said the country’s “unity is settled and not negotiable,” and that government would “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.”
He said: “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 hometown Daura. Over two days we discussed in great depth till late into the night and analyzed 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.
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.”
The President also directed security agencies in the country to redouble their efforts in securing the country and its peoples, and 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,” he said.
He said government would reinforce and reinvigorate the fight against elements of Boko Haram which are attempting a new series of attacks on soft targets and kidnappings, farmers versus herdsmen clashes in addition to ethnic violence fuelled by political mischief makers.
The President also stressed the need for Nigerians to eschew petty differences and come together to face what he referred to as “common challenges of economic security, political evolution and integration as well as lasting peace among all Nigerians.”