• Osinbajo asks state helmsmen to battle hate speech

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

State governors, on Wednesday, said they had resolved that they would not allow Nigeria to break up, stating that those fanning the embers of war were wasting their time.



The governors spoke after their meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in continuation of Osinbajo’s consultations on the recent tension in the country as a result of several agitations.

Oyo State Governor, Abiola, Ajimobi, who spoke on behalf of the other governors, said the governors and other stakeholders had agreed that despite the agitations being witnessed in parts of the country, Nigeria must not break.

Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of a meeting, Osinbajo stated that any Nigerians expecting the country to break was only wasting his time.

“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 that 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 added.

He said the governors resolved that the unity of the country “is sacrosanct, non-negotiable and we have all agreed to work together to educate people.”

Ajimobi added, “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 governor also warned against the consequences of war, urging Nigerians to learn from Rwanda and Somalia.

Osinbajo had appealed to the governors to always be ready to speak up against statements from individuals or groups capable of setting the nation on fire.

He said they must be ready to protect the nation and its democracy from the hands of those who were bent on dividing the country.

He spoke before the meeting, which was held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, went into a closed-door session.

He stated, “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 on how we express ourselves.

“What we have seen in recent times is that some of the languages (words) 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.

Osinbajo, who had earlier met separately with leaders of thought and traditional rulers from both the North and the South-East, said those who participated in the previous consultations agreed that Nigeria’s unity should not be taken for granted.

He said nobody wanted the nation to witness bloodshed or war.

While describing the previous meetings as frank and open, Osinbajo said they were able to agree on most of the critical issues that were discussed, and in most cases, changed perceptions that might have been long embedded in their minds.

He added that the participants also agreed that under no circumstances should hateful speeches be condoned and that government should take all steps necessary to bring to book all those who preached violence.

The acting President stated that they also agreed that government needed to do more to engage youths productively, create some jobs and multiply the economic opportunities available.

Osinbajo added, “More importantly, we agreed on the need for leaders to speak out forcefully to counter divisive speech or any kind of warmongering.

“We agreed that leaders, at all levels, must 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 statements 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.”

He commended the leaders from the North and South-East for their openness at the consultations, saying they were extremely responsible even in their criticisms of what they felt were issues that should have been better handled.

While saying their criticisms were fair and balanced, he commended them for their sense of responsibility and their leadership.

Osinbajo mentioned the issue of herdsmen and farmers crisis, especially the way that some of these had resulted in flashpoints across the country, as one of the issues raised at the previous meetings.

He said it was important that lasting and satisfactory solutions were found to the problems identified.

Describing the problems as multidimensional, Osinbajo said state governors had important roles to play especially because they were in control of their territories.

He stated, “We must resist the temptation to play politics especially with matters of security, but to reach for simplistic narratives that might be originally expedient and satisfying but false, deceiving and sometimes unhealthy to proper understanding of the issues.”

Governors, who attended the meeting, included Rauf Aregbesola (Osun); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Dave Umahi (Ebonyi); Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Godwin Obaseki (Edo).

Among others are governors from Borno, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Kogi, Lagos, Kebbi, Ondo, Imo, Taraba and Anambra states among others.



http://punchng.com/weve-resolved-nigeria-must-not-break-say-governors/

Leaders of thought
All we clamour for is peace.

Those chanting war song don't really know what is war

Amen. United we stand!!

Their opinion and theirs only, Biafra must reign free.

Igbo Jews won't like this..

akthedream:
Igbo Jews won't like this..

Bro i wish u guys will understand that we don't give a damn about this mofos called goveenors and politicians here in the east.
And in other shelve face osibande is there wasting his precious tym meeting the wrong pple.
He will soon realise that he is on a long thing.

akthedream:
Igbo Jews won't like this..

My oga, I'm not a jew but I don't like it either.

We want a new Nigeria devoid of all those crimes associated with Jews.

sarrki:



Why always love to rant online
Deceiving ipob miscreants

Are you an ewedu moozlem or Afonja Christian? I ask because I want to know whether you are among the Sudanese migrants or sky falling ancestors part?

They are now our rep n we r voiceless after N200 and 5kg of rice.

sarrki:



Why always love to rant online
Deceiving ipob miscreants

what is this Benue coward saying I hope you learnt something from Taraba youths... bloody coward

sarrki:
Leaders of thought
All we clamour for is peace.

Those chanting war song don't really know what is war

Is Nigeria at peace? Syria has only ISIS and media is boiling while Nigeria boasts of Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram,two of the top four most dangerous terrorists groups in the world according to Independent UK.

Remind me the meaning of peace and try rephrasing it in the same sentence with the zoo again.

sarrki:



Why always love to rant online
Deceiving ipob miscreants

Actually, he is not ranting but conveying the message of Igbos and I quite agree with him.

Pls, we need to find a long lasting solution to this empty chest beating, we are tired.

We need a new Nigeria devoid of all those things associated with Igbos.

LionDeLeo:


Actually, he is not ranting but conveying the message of Igbos and I quite agree with him.

Pls, we need to find a long lasting solution to this empty chest beating, we are tired.

We need a new Nigeria devoid of all those things associated with Igbos.

The Igbos have remoulded this one's skull with knocks, and now he's the one agitating for Biafra so that his agony could end. I understand your pain, Arewa youth.

sarrki:
Leaders of thought
All we clamour for is peace.

Those chanting war song don't really know what is war

yea the most thoughtful leaders on earth who earn fat life pensions for their 4 years of palpable looting while the pensioners who put in their youth in service to the state perish in penury, and you my friend, are the most thoughtful follower so far, may you live long.

conductor2:

The Igbos have remoulded this one's skull with knocks, and now he's the one agitating for Biafra so that his agony could end. I understand your pain, Arewa youth.

You are right sir, I'm actually sick and tired of the unending hairy chest beating even in the face glaring realities.

sarrki:
Leaders of thought
All we clamour for is peace.

Those chanting war song don't really know what is war

The very people causing the agitation through sustained deprivation of the masses. It is not by resolution but, fairness equity and justice!

LionDeLeo:


You are right sir, I'm actually sick and tired of the unending hairy chest beating even in the face glaring realities.

Goodluck with that.

conductor1:

Goodluck with that.

You can now sleep sir.

No one is asking for war, we are asking for this nation to be restructured to benefit the common man. The status quo clearly benefits them, hence they bury their heads in d sand and act nonchalantly.

sarrki:
Leaders of thought All we clamour for is peace.
Those chanting war song don't really know what is war

Chanting war song or referendum song.?

When did the call for referendum become a call for war.?

They, the governors gathered in their own name and not in name of the their people ..

LionDeLeo:


You can now sleep sir.

Running from pillar to post
Just to push the arewa agenda down our throat
Give it a rest guy

zombieHUNTER:

Running from pillar to post
Just to push the arewa agenda down our throat
Give it a rest guy

From which pillar to which post?

Pls stop spamming my mention.

conductor2:

Is Nigeria at peace? Syria has only ISIS and media is boiling while Nigeria boasts of Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram two of the top four most dangerous terrorists groups in the world according to Independent UK.

Remind me the meaning of peace and try rephrasing it in the same sentence with the zoo again.

Can you prove this part by providing links to the said article?

sarrki:
Leaders of thought
All we clamour for is peace.

Those chanting war song don't really know what is war

Sarrki one question for you.

Do you know what is a town hall meeting? Who and who did your leaders of thought meet to discuss the way forward? So a leader will just wake up and and go to a meeting and say that it is the will of his people? Is that how you people do in Africa? I thought you said you were a patriot?

Let the governors of the south eastern state come out clearly to denounce Nnamdi kanu and his hate speeches, then we will take them serious.

If you resolve that NIGERIA won't break, then FIX it please....

Just a short recap of the main events so far.

Igbos touts: The arewa don't want us to go because they are parasites, we must go and the zoo must fall.

Arewa youths: we are tired of this hairy chest beating, pls pack your things and leave arewa to your land. And you have up to Oct 1 to do that.

Igbos touts: why are they threatening us with war? Why can't they call for referendum? DSS should arrest them.

Arewa youths: okay, go and conduct your referendum but in your land, we are strongly in support of your self-determination agenda and indeed you have UN backing.

Igbos touts: why not call your leaders to conduct the referendum for us if you are serious. You are jealous of our success, you want to loot our investment. We have over $45T investment in Arewa.

Igbos leaders: Arewa cannot "drive" us from Nigeria.

Pls, what is this foot-dragging all about having been handed your much desired historic goal on a platter of gold?

Who are they to decide for 180m Nigerians?

dahaz:
Let the governors of the south eastern state come out clearly to denounce Nnamdi kanu and his hate speeches, then we will take them serious.

How does it stop a Referendum taking place in the East