The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Saturday called on Nigerians to resist any agenda designed to cause division and instability in the country.
The minister made the call while speaking on a radio programme, monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He urged them not to allow anyone or group play on the security challenges in the country to pit them against one another.
Mohammed said the country’s security challenges were surmountable, urging the citizens to refrain from statements and rhetorics that could exacerbate the situation.
“We are calling on all Nigerians to resist any agenda by anybody to threaten the unity and peaceful coexistence in the country.
“We have always lived together peacefully for long as Hausas, Yorubas, Ibos, Fulanis and so on, and we have always resolved our differences amicably.
“So, l want to urge our political and religious leaders particularly to be careful about what they say.
“We should be doing things that could help address the security challenges that we have, not making statements capable of worsening the situation,” he said.
The minister also warned against portraying the herders/farmers clashes in parts of the country as part of plans by one ethnic group to subjugate the other.
He said that farmers and herders had always had disagreements and community leaders in the affected areas had always found a way of resolving the issues.
The minister said there was the need for communities to go back to the old ways of settling disputes between herders and farmers for peace to reign.
Mohammed said the Federal Government was committed to the protection of all citizens and would not side with any particular people against the other.
On banditry and insurgency, Mohammed said the government was doing its best to address the problems.
He said security agencies had recorded remarkable successes against bandits and terrorists and called on Nigerians to support them to do more.
“If we look at where we were and where are now, we will see that a lot has been achieved.
“Though the challenges are still there, the government won’t rest until the problems are over.
“I want to call on citizens to continue to support the government and our security agencies to achieve more,” he said.
- NAN