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Our unity not subject of debate
•Obi of Onitsha says secession futile
Pro-Biafra protesters got a reply on their efforts yesterday from President Muhammadu Buhari: no compromise on Nigeria’s unity.
Buhari who broke his silence on the agitation triggered by the recent arrest and detention of the Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kalu, declared that he was not in office to preside over the balkanisation of the country.
He had the backing of a leading traditional ruler in the Southeast and Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe who asked the protesters to shelve the idea of secession from the rest of Nigeria.
“The corporate existence of Nigeria as a single entity is not a subject of debate and will not be compromised,” Buhari affirmed in a message to the investiture of Achebe as the 7th Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
The message was delivered by the Minister of State for Education, Professor Anthony Onwuka, who himself is from the Southeast.
He said:”the country is currently facing challenges of insurgency and other forms of insecurity that has become a threat to Nigerians to live their country and be educated in their country.
“The security situation in the country entails that every Nigerian must discharge his responsibility in bringing about peaceful coexistence.
“The menace of insurgency and actions of some people agitating for dismemberment of this country will be surmounted.
“I therefore sound a note of serious warning that the corporate existence of Nigeria as a single entity is not a subject of debate and will not be compromised.”
On the state of education in the country, Buhari pledged to “put our education system back on sound track.”
Universities, according to him, “should on their own part key into the wave of change across the country. As pacesetters, the universities must avoid any corrupt practices.”
Although Obi was cautious in his prepared speech on the unrest in the Southeast and other parts of the country, he later said in an interview with reporters that pro-Biafra agitators should have a rethink.
He said the agitation violates Nigeria’s constitution of the country and the principles of democracy.
The traditional ruler drew their attention to the inherent dangers involved in their action, emphasising that Nigeria remains a united and indivisible country irrespective of the numerous challenges.
He urged them to channel all their grievances through their elected representatives in the National Assembly for consideration, rather than embarking on violent protests that could result in breakdown of law and order in the region.
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