Osinbajo to govs: Speak out more forcefully against agitations

ACTING President Yemi Osinbajo met with state governors on Wednesday in continuation of his consultations with stakeholders over rising tensions in the country, stressing the need for political leaders to speak out more forcefully against divisive speech.

Addressing the governors inside the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he warned that careless use of words and expressions may degenerate into crisis.

He said: “We are a people that like to talk and we express ourselves loudly, but it is expected for us to recognise that it is those same words that can cause conflagration, that can unfortunately lead to calamity.

“We must be careful of how we express ourselves.

“What we have seen in recent times is that some of the languages used have tended to degenerate badly and I think that we must begin to speak up against some these things and ensure that we protect our democracy and our nation from the hands of rhetoric that may just divide us.”

He said the outcome of his consultations so far showed agreement on certain issues.

According to Osinbajo, “We agreed that Nigeria’s unity should not be taken for granted. No one wants to see us go down the path of bloodshed or war.

“We also agreed on the permanency of the Nigerian constitution, that the 1999 constitution is the basis for our unity. It is the basis for the legal contract that exists between all of us.

“Our meetings were frank and open as I hope this will be. We were able to agree on most of the critical issues that were discussed and in most cases changed perceptions that may have been long embedded in their minds.

“We also agreed that under no circumstances should we condone hateful speeches and that government should take all steps necessary to bring to book all those who preach violence, in particular the kind of expressions of dissent that can cause violence.

“We also agreed that we need to do more to engage our youth productively, create some jobs, multiply the economic opportunities available.

“More importantly, we agreed on the need for leaders to speak out forcefully to counter divisive speech or any kind of war-mongering.

“We agreed that leaders at all levels speak out forcefully against any kind of divisiveness or divisive speech and we expect that our political leaders will do so without waiting to be prompted.

“All of those who spoke felt that sometimes when leaders do not speak up promptly, it always results in degeneration no matter what the problem may be.

“This applied to both the statement made by the young people in the South East as well as the youth in the Northern states.

“We discovered there was a need for much greater resonance in the way that these things are done and for the leaders to speak up more forcefully.

“We believe that if the leaders do not speak up forcefully enough if for any reason, matters are allowed to degenerate, not only does leadership lose their legitimacy, they run the risk of things going completely out control.”

The acting President commended the leaders from the North and South for their openness at the consultations, stating that they were extremely responsible even in their criticisms of what they felt were issues that should have been better handled.

He also stressed the need to “make lasting and satisfactory solutions to these problems” that have been identified.

Osinbajo stated: “Of course the problems are multi-dimensional but the states have a very important role to play especially because they are in control of land in their territories.

“I must say that I trust that all of us appreciate the need to show greater unity of purpose and the determination to work together to resolve various challenges that arise on a constant basis for the benefit of all Nigerians regardless of party affiliations.”

Osinbajo advised the leaders to resist the temptation of playing politics with national security but to rather speak to their people with plain facts.

The acting President further said: “We must resist the temptation to play politics especially with matters of security, but to reach for simplistic narratives that might be originally expedient and satisfying but false, deceiving and sometimes unhealthy to proper understanding of the issues.

“Sometimes intensions are perceived on the account of the fact that they have wrong perception about a particular thing.

“I think it is in our place to ensure that we dig down the fact and ensure that people are given the fact and ensure that we don’t colour them with politics.”

Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting Governor Abiola Ajimobi said Nigeria would remain united, observing that those talking about secession did not witnessed the civil war.

“Nobody is going anywhere,” he declared, adding that the Federal Government was doing its best for the country.