President Muhammadu Buhari has described as “irresponsible elements” those calling for the renegotiation of Nigeria’s unity.
In his six-minute broadcast to the nation Monday morning, Buhari had noted that some of the comments, especially in the social media, had “crossed our national red lines by daring to question our collective existence as a nation.”
“This is a step too far,” the President warned.
“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,” he reiterated.
Buhari said his government will reinvigorate its campaign against the Islamic extremist insurgency in the country’s northeast.
“Terrorists and criminals must be fought and destroyed relentlessly so that the majority of us can live in peace and safety,” said Buhari in a televised speech on Monday. “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, kidnappings, farmers versus herdsmen clashes, in addition to ethnic violence fueled by political mischief makers. We shall tackle them all.”
Buhari returned Saturday to Abuja, though he didn’t make any comments upon his arrival to Abuja.
In his address, Buhari, 74, did not say what ailment caused him to leave Nigeria in May for the lengthy treatment in Britain. He thanked Nigerians for their prayers.
__________
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2017 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
