Lai Mohammed, minister of information, says some selfish elites are giving the impression that Nigerians do not want to stay as a nation.
Speaking on Friday in Lagos when he received a delegation of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) led by Steve Babaeko, its president, the minister asked Nigerians not to succumb to the manipulations of people who are beating the drums of disintegration.
The minister said there is nothing more pertinent in the country presently than the issue of national unity.
“We must continue to preach to Nigerians that we are better together than to be divided. We must also let them know that those things that divide us are much less than those things that unite us,” the minister said.
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“We must resist the temptation of some very selfish elites giving the impression that Nigerians do not want to stay as a nation.
“I disagree with this because I know that the average Nigerians have no issues with his brother whether he is a Christians or Muslim or from Itsekiri or Igbo. We have our challenges as a nation but the solution is not separation because what separation will bring will be worse.
“Somalia is a good example. Everybody in that country is a Muslim and they speak the same language and have the same culture yet there is no peace ditto to Southern Sudan.
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“We will fix our challenges be it in the area of economy or security and the government is working daily to achieve this. We must not allow those with selfish interest or who are simply anarchist to destabilise us.”
Lai added that nation-building is a continuous process that never stops and the government would continue to work to ensure that Nigeria remains united.
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