Asiwaju an advocate of cohesion, unity ― Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, paid glowing tributes to qualities in the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing him as an advocate of cohesion and unity.

Also, Vice- President Yemi Osinbajo described former Lagos State governor, Tinubu, as an individual, whose leadership style had remained unusual in the history of democracy in Nigeria.

Buhari said this via his virtual speech during Tinubu’s 69th birthday, noting that the colloquium organised for the politician and former governor was a reflection of the service he had rendered not only to Lagos State but also to everyone in the country.

The colloquium, which took place in Kano, was attended by dignitaries, including the Kano State Governor, Abdulahi Ganduje; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeoma, who chaired the virtual parley; The Resident Representative of UNDP in Nigeria, Mahmed Yahya; the celebrant himself, Asiwaju Tinubu, among others.

According to President Buhari, the gesture is very important especially at this time when there is inter-ethnic tension across the country, calling on all Nigerians to join hands together in the promotion of unity and peaceful coexistence in the country by shunning all forms of division, even as noted that it is a well-known fact that Nigerians are better together.

“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself is an advocate of cohesion and unity in Nigeria. All of us here can attest to this ability of his.

“Unity and cohesion are very key at this point in time in order to ensure that every Nigerian is comfortable in every part of the country even as they must constantly keep faith with the promise of greater Nigeria.

“The lessons of this colloquium are very clear- Justice and harmony reigns in Nigeria; therefore, we must count our blessings in Nigeria on the basis of peace and unity,” Buhari said.

The president congratulated the celebrant on his 69th birthday and wished him the best of health and wisdom for the continuous promotion of the development of humanity.

Speaking, the vice- president, Prof Osinbajo, while lauding Asiwaju Tinubu for his leadership quality, which he described as unusual, argued that one factor that had made the celebrant thick remained his readiness to listen and entertain divergent opinions.

Besides, the Vice President also noted that the readiness of the former senator to expose his thoughts and ideas to scrutiny had provided him with the opportunity to fine-tune such ideas and effectively equip him to handle various issues in the nation’s political space.

“Asiwaju’s leadership style is an unusual one. He believes development is about enabling a contest of ideas and thoughts. By exposing his thoughts to scrutiny, he is able, most times, to refine such thought, and which put him in good stead to handle various national issues. He’s not afraid to have his ideas scrutinised, that is why he is always comfortable in the midst of people of varied backgrounds,” Osinbajo stated.

He described the annual colloquium, now in its 12th edition, as a platform where issues of national importance were brought up and discussed.

While expressing his delight that the nation is gradually building a new tribe, consisting of politicians, businessmen and other individuals, with utmost faith in the Nigerian project, Professor Osinbajo insisted that the issue of national integration had become imperative; since the country would be better off with her ethnic nationalities together.

“We need to remind those individuals that the country is better off being together. For instance, we would have been looking for visa to get to Kano, venue of this event, today, if we had all gone our different ways,” the vice- president added.

Kano State Governor, Dr Ganduje, in his welcome address, described the theme of the colloquium as apt, since integration poses a challenge every Nigerian would have to be born again to overcome such challenges, which listed to include intolerance, ethnicity and nepotism.

He, however, observed that the topic had exposed the very low level of national integration in Nigeria.

“If we are to describe the level of national integration in the country, we can say it is very low. So it’s a challenge to everybody to bring down those variables, such as intolerance, ethnicity, nepotism,
for us to be able to truly live together.

“President Buhari is committed to this cause, but it’s not a war he can win alone. All Nigerians must be born again concerning national integration, for us to live peacefully,” Ganduje said.

In a panel discussion held virtually and chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Onyeoma, the Resident Representative of UNDP in Nigeria, Yahya, noted that violent extremism was a personal process across African countries, including Nigeria, adding that 50 per cent are propelled by someone they knew.

Meanwhile, the Professor of security and Leadership at Kings College in London, Funmi Olanisakin, said that Nigeria needed to look across the entire terrain as the conversation goes on.

She noted that a lot of silence characterised Nigeria but said the focus is made only on where there is violence without also taken into consideration silence which is more profound, declaring that such is the issue with Boko Haram.

APC National Leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, in his own remark, said that there was a need to mix both the youths and the old in governance in order to avoid danger.

Tinubu, who acknowledged the anger of the Nigerian youths, said that is the only way unity can be promoted.

“I salute our youths. They are angry. If we don’t mix the two, the agitations can be dangerous. We can promote unity and common destiny in a better more creative ways,” he said.

Speaking further, the former governor of Lagos State urged President Buhari and the National Assembly to avoid introducing austerity into the country’s economy at this time, saying it was most crucial to put stimulus expenditure in place.

According to him, it is only the local government in the country that can restrict itself to only balance the budget but the state cannot.

This was just as he canvassed for the recruitment of millions of youths into the military, declaring that the country was under police.

“I hope the National Assembly, the president will not pay attention to austerity.

“The state cannot restrain itself to balance the budget but the local government can. We are under the police. Recruit 50 million youths into the Nigerian Army.

“We better fine-tune our economy programme. This is the time to put stimulus expenditure in place.

“This is not the time to constrain the economy. We are fasting no more. The ones we are fasting spiritually is voluntary. We have been fasting for many years,” he said.

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Asiwaju an advocate of cohesion, unity ― Buhari