A Statement on Current Developments in Our Land
Recent drums of division, violence and intolerance beating
across the federation underscore the growing frustrations of Nigerians
everywhere. A peculiar brand of toxic communicationhas enveloped our public
affairs, threatening to pollute the relationships of people and communities
that have – despite occasional challenges - largelyco-existed in relative peace
with one another.
Voices of agents of violence and division now command
the most attention from both within and beyond government. A growing sense of
uncertainty and fear begs for immediate action to reassure Nigerians that there
is a clear pathway to equity, unity and security.
All these take place at a time when our country is
going through a difficult period of uncertainty. Communities live with a sense
of deepening insecurity while citizens feel an equalthreat to their livelihoods,
together leading to pervasive sense of institutionalised inequities, rising
hate and deepening division. The frustrations triggered by these challenges can
easily get out of hand or be exploited by the recklessness of desperate
politicians and identity entrepreneurs or their agents. This cannot be allowed.
These developments are the cumulative result of
leadership failures and poor choices over the years at various levels,
including government, political parties, security agencies, business,
traditional institutions, communities, places of worship, schools, and civil
society across the country.
The consequences of these failures now confront us as
a people with an existential threat of potentially profound significance. Inspired
by this realisation, we believe it is important to evolve an agenda of urgent steps
to address these rumblings of discontent and division.
Against this background, we the undersigned Nigerians,
driven by our faith in the potential of Nigeria and our appreciation of the
value that each and every Nigerian has in making ita country we can all be
proud of, have come together to make this statement. We are bound together by
shared values of belief in unity, equality, justice, responsible citizenship, the
inherent worth of every human being and, most importantly, by commitment to
shared bonds of friendship and citizenship which transcend religion, ethnicity
or other narrow identity. We are, to put it simply, all Nigerians.
Troubled by the state of affairs in our country we wish
to state that:
1.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is richly endowed and all communities
found in it belong to it. All citizens and communities as well as succeeding
generations of Nigerians, without discrimination on any grounds such as
political or other opinion, origins, religion, gender or statushave an equal
stake in sustaining and improving the many bonds that connect us.
2.
Government at all levels, including federal, state and local government,
must take urgent steps to address the prevailing economic situation and stem
the growing patterns or perceptions of chronic inequity, alienation and
discontent across the country.
3.
Government at federal, state and local levels has the primary duty to
secure public safety and wellbeing and show that Nigerian lives matter. Accordingly,
it must enlist the full support and participation of Nigerians everywhere in
confronting the underlying causes and growing incidents of violence, division
andhatewherever these occur. Individuals or groups who by their words or other
conduct constitute threats to lives and propertyof Nigerians or to our
collective coexistence should be dealt with swiftly, firmly, lawfully and without
discrimination on any grounds such as political or other opinion, origin,
religion, gender or status.
4.
Civic groups, including those founded on identity such as faith or
ethnicity, have a particular responsibility todiscourage hate, division and
violence. Together with the media, including social media,we all have a duty to
amplify voices of reason over and above the voices of division. We must not subscribe
to or sustain the emergence of a single narrative of strife and hate amongst
Nigerians. There is an urgent need to promote and amplify narratives that bring
us together and encourage improved engagement across ethnic and religious
divides as well as collective action against bad governance wherever it exists
in the country.
5.
In the immediate future, these problems of national cohesion could easily
spiral out of control if we do not prepare adequately to meet the challenges of
Nigeria’s rapidly growing population and the accompanying crisis of social
exclusion among our youth population. To meet this challenge, government at all
levels should prioritise effective investment in academic and vocational education,
enlightenment, innovation and skills on a sustained basis. For this purpose,
Nigeria needs to urgently roll out an inclusive national plan on education,
innovation and skills that is both fit for purpose and implemented effectively.
Such a plan should be built on partnership with private and voluntary sectors,
with room for complementary investments from Nigeria’s international partners.
6.
None of this can be achieved unless we commit at all levels to zero-tolerance
for impunity by improving the performance and credibility of the institutions
and processes of accountability, including the police, judiciary and security
agencies.
7.
At this time more than ever before, we urgently call all leaders,
including elected, appointed, community, traditional, civic, and faith leaders,
to show true leadership and transcend divides of partisan politics, religion,
origins, geo-political zones, or hemispheres of north and south. Nigeria is our
home and the only country we have. Every Nigerian owes it as a duty to work for
the best interest of this country. Many of us already know first hand that Nigeria’s
diversity is a valuable resource and source of strength but we need millions
more to realise this and we can only do this if we are willing to constructively
engage these issues that challenge us as a country.
8.
We commit to working together to advocate these values and call on all
Nigerians who share these values to stand firm and speak out loudly in favour
of peace, equity and social justice in our land. We call on them to speak outin
favour of meaningful dialogue, which alone can bring lasting resolution to the
multi-faceted issues that threaten to consume us. We ask them to speak up and
take back our destiny from those who believe that what differentiates us is more
important than what unites us and the great potential we have to achieve more together.
We owe it to ourselves to create the enabling environment and structures for
peace, prosperity and development and we cannot do this if we continue to disdain
each other. We call for calm and mutual respect across peoples wherever we are so
that, living and working together, what we dream of for ourselves and our
children can be achieved.
Signed
Amb Fatima Balla, mni
Prof Adele Jinadu
Fatima Wali-Abdurrahman
YZ Y'au,
AVM Andy GiwaTsakr (Rtd)
Dr.Jibrin Ibrahim
Ayo Obe
Dr. Chris Kwaja
Femi Edun
Saka Azimazi
Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani)
Prof AwwalYadudu
Kola Awodein, SAN
Ayisha Osori
Innocent Chukwuma
Dr. Kole Shettima
Yemi Candide-Johnson, SAN
IniAbimbola
MusikiluMojeed
Dr. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu
Col. Kingsley Umoh
Dr Hussaini Abdu
Hubert Shaiyen
IbimSemenitari
Dr. Ayesha Imam
Dr.Abubakar Siddique Mohammed
Mabeiam Gloria Ballason
Abdulkhalid Ali Baba
Mohammed Sani
HabibaBalogun
AdeshinaOke
EzenwaNwagwu
Usman Abdullahi
Franklin AchoNlerum
Niyi Yusuf
Jaye Gaskiya
Solomon Uwaifo
Mohammed Sabo Keana
Hassan Usman
IfeomaMalo
Segun Olukoya
Udo Jude Ilo
Ige Igeoluwa
Muhammad Ibrahim
AbiodunBaiyewu
Prof Mohammed YahayaKuta
Ozolua O. Giwa-Amu
Prof. Mohammed Kuna
ChidoOnumah
Prof. Sam Egwu
Dr. Clement Adibe
AbiodunBaiyewu
Barnabas Omali
Nike Desouza
Dr. Amina Salihu
Dr. Jude Ohanele
Mohammed Alfa
OladayoOlaide
Idayat Hassan
Orode Doherty
Fidelis Duker
IfeomaFafunwa
Sutura Aisha Bello
Wole A. Akande
KunleAjagbe
AtoseAguele
Hamza Grema Mohammed
Prince Paul Adelabu
Chris Enete
Martin Obono
Aisha
Waziri Umar
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