REMARKS BY ACTING PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF
NIGERIA, HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, AT A CONSULTATIVE MEETING
WITH STATE GOVERNORS HELD AT THE OLD BANQUET HALL, STATE HOUSE, ABUJA ON JUNE 21, 2017
“But there is a point where a line has to be drawn,
and that is when conversations or agitations degenerate into hateful rhetoric,
where the narrative descends into pejorative name-calling, expressions of
outright prejudice and hatred”
First let me begin by thanking all of your
excellencies for making the time to come. This is the last but by no means the
least of the consultations that I have been having along with the Service
Chiefs and Ministers with several groups especially from the Northern States
and the Southeast States.
We’ve had very fruitful and very frank discussions
with the various groups and many of course have spoken about the various issues
which concern them and we’ve more or less been able to come to some agreement
as to common principles and if you like consensus, and I will come to that
shortly.
But today’s meeting is one which I hope will be
able to seal all of the discussions we’ve had with the different groups, with
the traditional rulers, the leaders, the elders and I hope that we will be able
to seal that because obviously the Governors are critical in this whole process
and it’s impossible of course to get anything done or to even implement any of
the ideas or suggestions we may have without your excellencies being the
primary movers of whatever it is that we agree to do.
I think that most will agree with me that important
issues that we are faced with today are issues that center around unity in a
multi-religious, multi-ethnic and very diverse country. And as it’s always the
case, we need to handle all of these issues carefully because at various times
there are attempts to play up those fault lines.
There are attempts by various groups, individuals,
sometimes by politicians to play up those fault lines and to create tension
sometimes for purely selfish reasons but at other times for even genuine
reasons. I think that it’s our duty as leaders, especially as elected leaders
to really make a difference in the way that these conversations and
interventions go.
In recent weeks, there have been some worrying
agitations and expressions of discontent and I am sure we are all familiar with
them. We need not repeat the tensions that have been created; not only over questions
of secession and those who have been agitating for secession in the
Southeastern States and of course the response of some young people in the
Northern States and ultimatums that have been issued saying that persons of
Southeast origin should leave the North and those sort of agitations.
I think it’s important that these responses and
counter-responses are put in the right perspective and that they are dealt with
in a manner that enables us to be able to resolve the issues and go forward
properly as a nation.
There is a part of all of these agitations and
statements that are made that is fair and may well be considered as freedom of
expression. Clearly, we are all allowed to express our views and there’s a part
of this that is expected in any healthy and robust democracy: people arguing
and disagreeing, sometimes stridently.
But there is a point where a line has to be drawn,
and that is when conversations or agitations degenerate into hateful rhetoric,
where the narrative descends into pejorative name-calling, expressions of
outright prejudice and hatred.
We must at some point ensure that even in the use of words, we are
careful especially because the kinds of problems that we’ve seen, the
conflagration that we’ve seen all over the world, even in our own society
starts by the use of words.
So, words can carry a lot of weight, and it
so important that the responsible use of words, the responsible expression of
dissent is taken as priority. We must not allow the careless use of words and
expression that may degenerate into conflict and crisis.
Our constitution guarantees freedom of expression
and we are a people who like to talk. We express to ourselves very loudly, in
an agitated fashion in some cases. But it is important for us to recognize that
it is those same words that can cause conflagration, alarm and can ultimately
lead to calamity. We must be careful with the way we express ourselves.
What we have been seeing in recent times, and this
is what has brought a lot of the concern, is that some of the language and
expressions that have been used have tended to degenerate very badly and we
must begin to speak up against some of these things and ensure that we protect
our democracy and nation from the kinds of rhetoric that may not just divide us
but ultimately result in a great deal of trouble.
I think that from all of the consultations we’ve
had, all agree on certain principles; the first is that we’re all agreed that
Nigeria’s unity should never be taken for granted, and that no one wants to see
Nigeria going down the path of bloodshed. There is clarity as to that from all
the conversations and consultations we’ve had with all of the leaders.
We also agreed on the primacy of the Nigerian Constitution, that this is the ultimate basis for our unity. The 1999 Constitution is the basis upon which we were elected into office and the basis for the legal contract which exist between all of us as citizens of this country not only amongst ourselves but also with our nation.
The Constitution guarantees the equality of all
Nigerians before the law, and their freedom to live and work anywhere in the
country, in peace and safety, without fear of discrimination or prejudice. That
is a guarantee of our Constitution and that is the reason why the Federal and
State Governments must be committed to ensuring that every Nigerian citizen
lives and works wherever he pleases peacefully and securely.
It is the commitment by Federal Government being in
charge of law enforcement agencies, not to tolerate a situation where there is
any attempt to dislodge any Nigerian in any way or even intimidate any
Nigerian.
The second is that Nigeria and our constitution
clearly states that the country with the Federal Government and 36 States is
sovereign and indissoluble under the Constitution. In other words, it is one
united country. That is also an important and fundamental basis upon which we
operate as Nigerians. Our Constitution states that our nation is one undivided
and sovereign.
These fundamental principles are agreed by all of those we consulted and I think it is important because they may sound banal and ordinary but it’s important that we remind ourselves and we did remind ourselves in all of the consultations, all of the leadership we spoke to were quite united in all these principles.
We also agreed that prevention is better than cure;
that it is ultimately easier to confront our grievances head on – however
uncomfortable they might seem – and find lasting and acceptable solutions, rather
than ignore those controversies and issues.
We agreed that it is important that whatever grievances and issue, we place them in the forefront and we discuss and debate them and do so in a manner that is not hateful or divisive in any way. This is one of the issues that emerged from our meetings. The meetings were frank as I expect our meeting today to be frank.
But we were able to agree on most of the critical issues that were discussed and in many cases change perceptions that may have been long embedded in the minds of many.
We also agreed that under no circumstances would we tolerate or should we condone hateful or divisive speech in any guise. Government should take every step necessary to bring to book all of those who preach violence in particular or the kinds of expressions of dissent that encourage violence. We must prevent this at all cost.
We also agreed that we need to do more to engage
our youth productively, creation of jobs and multiplying the economic
opportunities available to the young people.
And very importantly, we agreed on the need for
leaders to speak out more forcefully to counter divisive speech or any kind of
warmongering. We agreed that cultural leaders, religious leaders and political
leaders should speak out forcibly against any kind of divisive speech and we
expect that our political leaders would do so without waiting to be prompted.
Of all those we discussed with both religious and
traditional leaders, they felt that sometimes when leaders do not speak up
promptly, it always results in the degeneration of whatever the problem may be.
Leaders need to speak up quickly whenever things go wrong.
This applied to both statements made by the young
people in the Southeast as well as the youth in the Northern State. Although we
did find several leaders speaking up, we felt the need for much greater
resonance in the way that these things are done and for the leaders to speak up
more forcibly.
If for any reason matters are allowed to
degenerate, then not only do the leadership lose their legitimacy but we run
the risk of things going completely out of control. Those are generally some of
the issues discussed and the consensus that was reached.
I want to applaud very much both individually and
collectively, the leadership that we met, leaders of Southeastern States, the
traditional rulers, religious leaders and some of the social-cultural leaders
and leaders of the Northern States. Yesterday, I met with the traditional
rulers from the North.
I think it is so important that they all should be
commended not only for their openness and willingness and I am sure that they
made compromises wherever necessary, but also their determination to work
together so that our nation is not divided in anyway and that we do not go down
the way of any kind of civil conflict.
I think that they ought to be commended for being rational and responsible even in their criticisms of what they thought were issues that should have been better handled, and I want to openly commend them for their leadership and responsibility.
Another issue that came up and I am sure we will
discuss this in greater detail is the issue around the farmers-herdsmen clashes
and possibly even hold an expanded meeting where we would be able to take a
closer look at it. It is actually important that we are able to reach
satisfactory and lasting solution to this problem.
The problems are multidimensional but the States
have very important roles to play especially because states are in control of
lands and a lot of these disputes are over land aside from the other social
cultural issues and the issues around security which involves the Federal
Government.
All said, I trust that all of us appreciate the
need to show greater unity of purpose and determination to work together to
solve these challenges, for the benefit of all Nigerians, regardless of our
partisan affiliations.
We must resist the temptation to play politics with
matters of security, or to reach for simplistic narratives that might be
momentarily expedient and satisfying but are false, misleading and unhelpful to
a proper understanding of the issues.
Sometimes, the tensions that we see are on account of the fact that
people have wrong perceptions about a particular thing and it is in our place
to ensure that we dig down the facts and ensure that people are given the facts
and we don’t colour them with politics in anyway.
I want to thank you very much for the fact that you are able to make it to this meeting outside of the run of our usual NEC meeting but I’m sure you agree with me that matters of security of course calls for these kinds of meeting especially at short notices and I am glad that you were able to make it.
Finally, we as Federal Government are committed to working with state governments in ensuring peace and stability in our country; without this peace and security there can be no real economic development.
I want to charge every one of us with that responsibility of ensuring that top on the agenda for us is to secure the lives and property of those who live within the borders of our state; and assuring our people that we are committed to ensuring that all our people wherever they may be from are free to live within the borders of our state happily as brothers and sisters.
Thank you very much.
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Politics