Resist temptation of elites calling for division – Minister urges

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has urged Nigerians to resist the temptation by some selfish elites campaigning that Nigeria is better divided.

The minister made the plea on Friday in Lagos when he granted audience to a delegation of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) led by its President, Mr Steve Baba-Eko.

It was reported the group had come to solicit the minister’s support and partnership in its proposed campaign on national unity scheduled to commence on Oct. 1.

The minister, who pledged to partner with the association on the project said “there is nothing more pressing in Nigeria today than the issue of national unity.”

He called on every Nigerian not to succumb to the manipulations of certain selfish elites who were beating the drum of disintegration.

“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.

“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,” he said.

The minister gave kudos to the nation’s founding fathers, saying in the last 60 years, they had been able to build a nation where everybody felt wanted.

He said the temporary challenges that the country was going through now should not be the basis for disintegration.

“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.

“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,” he said.

The minister stressed “nation building is a continuous process and it never stops’’.

He said challenges would surely come but the readiness to face the challenges “and overcome is what determines the strength of a nation”.

Mohammed assured that the government would continue to work to ensure that Nigeria remained a united prosperous nation.

He directed the Chief Executive Officers of the information parastatals in his ministry to partner with AAAN on the campaign.

The parastatal agencies included the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Radio Nigeria, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and National Orientation Agency.

Earlier, Baba-Eko said the association which had been in existence since 1973, is an umbrella body for all advertisement practitioners.

He said AAAN conceived the campaign on national unity as its own way of expressing its belief on the unity of the country.

He therefore solicited the support of the minister in the successful execution of the campaign.