Former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State have identified insecurity, bad governance, poverty and nepotism as factors affecting unity in Nigeria.
Atiku, who was the guest of honour at the National Lecture organized by the Arewa Media and
”I don’t see any Nigerian as Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba. When I see you, I see you as a Nigerian and I expect the best from you, that is why I didn’t select where I should marry from. I married women from the diverse background because I don’t look at their backgrounds.
“All Nigerians are equal and suppose to be treated equally, therefore, unity is not about homogeneity but it is by accepting the diversity in differences between us, not using this differences as a yardstick in judging others. This kind of unity cannot be achieved by accident, there must be strategic efforts to promote unity.
“Language is another primary source of disunity, that is why I recommend a national law to mandate every Nigerian to speak one more language from another region of the country, so we can connect and appreciate things we share in common.
”I remember this was introduced during one of the military regimes but along the line, that was lost in implementation. People easily associate and like others who speak their language. Language is one of the strongest sources for unity, we should have policy to mandate public servants, youth corps members to learn one more Nigerian language from the region other than the one they hail from. That way, we can strengthen our unity.
“It is only through unity we can surmount and overcome our challenges. We all face a common enemy, we need to fight this common enemy because this enemy will not spare anybody.
”Our common enemies do not recognize who is from the south of north, Muslim or a Christian, if we stand divided, we will be trapped by the enemy. We can only escape if we work together and its just like a story of Pigeon in the ancient world.
“Unity is your strength, as long as you stay united, no harm can come your way.’’
