Okezie Ikpeazu, Governor of Abia
State on Monday received five of his colleagues from the northern part of the
country.
While addressing them inside the
executive chamber of the government house, Umuahia, Ikpeazu said, “we won’t
allow an infinitesimal few to separate us”.
He said when the crisis started,
he asked himself, “in my shoes, what will my brother Tambuwal do?”
Ikpeazu expressed gratitude to
the northern delegation for coming to show solidarity with the people of Abia.
The governors, who visited the
state were Kashim Shettima (Borno), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Aminu Masari
(Katsina), Simon Lalong (Plateau) and Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi).
Earlier, Shettima, who is
chairman of the northern governors’ forum, said the delegation had earlier met
Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers.
He appealed to the people of the
south-east zone to have faith in a united and indivisible Nigeria.
“On behalf of northern governors’
forum, we are here to commend Governor Ikpeazu on his high-quality leadership
in handling the crisis in Abia.
“He rose to the occasion and
declared a curfew in Aba just as Governor Lalong also declared a curfew in Jos
to avert a reprisal attack on the Igbo.
“We are here to show solidarity.
We have a moral obligation to ensure that Nigeria remains one. Nigeria is the
largest conglomeration of black people in Africa and we cannot afford to
separate.
“If the nation disintegrates,
where will we go? North is the Sahara desert and Chad cannot contain us. If we
go south, it is the Atlantic Ocean. South is too small for us and the mountains
of East Africa with their so many challenges cannot accommodate us,” he said.
Shettima said Nigeria had come a
long way as a nation with rich diversities, hence, the need to sustain the
country’s unity.
He said it was in the interest of
all Nigerians to stay together and work to build a strong united nation.
“We are here to remind Nigerians
that we are better as one. We are here to also invite our south-east colleagues
to also come to the flashpoints of the north to speak to NdiIgbo living in the
north,” he said.
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Good,this is the symbol of unity,my Governors from the North welldone. My Governors from the Southeast,welldone. This is how it should be.Let no religion or Geopolitical zone divide and separate us.I begin to wonder how we have got to this level.In those days in the North,Kaduna where I lived you don't know who is a muslem during sallah and who is a christian during Xmas.For united Nigeria we stand,no shaking.As one of the Northern Governors has requested,let southern Governors equally visit wherever there are flash points in the North.What unite us are more than what divide and separate us.We say 'no' to divisions and separation.
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