Don’t make advocates of disunity popular by your action, NLC advises military … Says attack on journalists provocative

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned the Nigerian Army not to strengthen the cause of those advocating the disintegration of the country and inter-ethnic strife, due to their actions, and make the latter popular.

The congress gave the warning, as it also condemned the dastardly attack by the military men on journalists carrying out their legitimate functions in Umuahia describing it as unnecessarily provocative and totally unacceptable.

President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, while reacting to the development and the  need to arrest the growing insecurity, said it is unaccepted that journalists carrying out their legitimate functions can be so dastardly attacked  as has been reported in Umuahia during a security operation by the Nigerian Army.

While applauding the Federal Government for the steps taken so far by security agencies to secure lives and properties of all Nigerians in all parts of the country, the NLC president said it was important that the agencies, “including the military should not act in any manner that provokes situations that ultimately strengthen the cause, capacities and popularity of the advocates of disunity and inter-ethnic strife.”

Wabba added, “The attacks on them (journalists), especially at the secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists in Umuahia is not only unacceptable but unnecessarily provocative.

“Although the Nigerian Army has issued a public statement to apologise to the NUJ and the affected journalists while promising to investigate the incident and ultimately discipline the military personnel involved, we advise that the military high command should re-train its officers and men on contemporary ways of handling security challenges in a country under constitutional governance.”

The congress also advised the Federal Government to handle the ongoing agitations with utmost dexterity in the interest of peace, unity and collective interest of the entire country and her citizens.

Wabba regretted that the agitation was fast developing into unimaginable inter-ethnic violence, already spreading to some parts of the country as reported in Jos Plateau State, Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Aba and Umuahia in Abia State.

He called on the governors as chief security officers of their states to take responsibility for the growing security challenges “that ultimately threatens our collective interests and unity as Nigerians.”

He said, “Our governments, and indeed none of us as individuals or corporate citizens should allow the current situation degenerate any further.”

“Culprits of threats to our national integrity, nationhood and sovereignty must be apprehended and tried in accordance with extant national laws and international conventions without taking any further steps that will create another mayhem as we have been contending with in the north east.”

According to him, most problems in the states are caused mainly by the attitude of the various state governments who receive allocations for infrastructural development of communities in the states and payment of salaries but chose to divert such allocations to other uses or embezzle such funds with impunity.

He, however, regretted that those driving the cause that has led to the prevailing challenges are yet to confront their state governors on this.

He stated that it is unfortunate that some individuals across the country has chosen to use the collective deprivations to advance causes that indeed counter their aspiration for development.

He added: “The unity of Nigeria has been our collective strength as a people and no part of Nigeria can develop without the other, even on the terms and principles of the subsisting world socio economic order.”