Nigeria’s national unity
President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians to resist ethnic and religious divisions, declaring that no difference among the country’s diverse peoples should be strong enough to threaten Nigeria’s continued unity.
Tinubu made the appeal as political, traditional and religious leaders gathered for an international conference devoted to security, national cohesion and peaceful coexistence.
The President, who was represented by Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, spoke on Tuesday at the International Conference on Security and National Unity organised by Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah in collaboration with the Muslim World League.
Tinubu said Nigeria’s national unity must be protected despite the country’s ethnic, religious, cultural and political differences.
His message was straightforward: Nigerians will disagree, but disagreement should be addressed through dialogue rather than allowed to threaten the country’s corporate existence.
The President also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to confronting security challenges while working with other countries and international organisations to promote peace.
Tinubu calls for dialogue
At the heart of Tinubu’s message was the argument that dialogue remains essential to Nigeria’s national unity.
Nigeria is one of Africa’s most diverse countries, with hundreds of ethnic and linguistic communities and substantial Christian and Muslim populations.
That diversity has produced enormous cultural and economic strengths, but political competition has also periodically exploited ethnic and religious identities.
Tinubu argued that differences should not become grounds for destroying the country Nigerians collectively share.
The President said citizens should continue to talk through their disagreements and preserve Nigeria as one united country.
That position is particularly relevant as Nigeria approaches another general election cycle in 2027, when political rhetoric and regional calculations are likely to intensify.
Security and unity linked
The conference did not treat security and national cohesion as separate subjects.
Tinubu said the gathering was timely because of the multiple security challenges confronting Nigeria and other parts of the world.
The administration, he said, remained committed to tackling Nigeria’s security problems while cooperating internationally in the pursuit of peace.
The connection between security and Nigeria’s national unity is significant.
Violence that acquires an ethnic or religious character can become considerably more difficult to resolve because communities may begin viewing security incidents through identity rather than criminality.
That is why responsible political and religious leadership matters.
A kidnapping, terrorist attack or communal dispute should not automatically become an excuse for collective blame against an ethnic or religious population.
Security agencies also carry a responsibility to identify perpetrators based on evidence rather than stereotypes.
APC chairman warns politicians
All Progressives Congress National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, delivered one of the strongest warnings at the conference.
He urged politicians not to exploit religion and ethnicity for electoral or political advantage.
Yilwatda argued that Nigeria’s diversity should strengthen the country rather than become a source of permanent division.
He drew on his personal experience of displacement during violence in Bauchi, recalling that insecurity does not distinguish neatly between Christians and Muslims once communities descend into conflict.
His intervention added an important dimension to the discussion about Nigeria’s national unity.
Political leaders may benefit temporarily when they mobilise supporters around religious or ethnic fear, but the consequences can survive long after elections have ended.
Yilwatda warned that no temporary political victory should justify lasting damage to the nation.
Religious leaders challenged
The APC chairman also placed responsibility on religious leaders.
Nigeria’s churches and mosques exercise enormous influence over millions of citizens.
Statements from pulpits can therefore either calm tensions or worsen them.
Yilwatda urged religious institutions to become centres of peace, reconciliation and responsible citizenship.
He also called for the rejection of hate speech whether it originates from churches, mosques, palaces, political platforms or social media.
That message goes to the heart of Nigeria’s national unity.
Freedom of religion does not require hostility towards people who practise another faith.
Likewise, disagreement with another ethnic or political group should not become justification for incitement or violence.
The influence of religious leaders gives them a particular obligation to encourage tolerance.
NIREC rejects weaponisation of religion
The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council also used the conference to caution against attempts to weaponise religion, ethnicity and poverty.
NIREC Executive Secretary, Professor Cornelius Omonokhua, argued that Nigerians should recognise their common humanity before emphasising religious differences.
He stressed that Christianity and Islam both recognise the sanctity of human life and should not be manipulated to justify violence.
The intervention reinforced the broader message surrounding Nigeria’s national unity.
Nigeria’s Christian and Muslim communities have coexisted for generations, although relations have periodically been strained by violence, political rhetoric and disputes presented in religious terms.
Interfaith organisations such as NIREC therefore have an important role in creating channels through which disagreements can be addressed before they escalate.
Sultan identifies Nigeria’s implementation problem
Sultan of Sokoto and NIREC Co-Chairman Sa’ad Abubakar III brought another perspective to the discussion.
Rather than simply calling for more conferences, the Sultan questioned what happens after resolutions are adopted.
His argument was that Nigeria does not necessarily suffer from a shortage of proposed solutions.
The deeper problem is implementation.
That observation deserves attention.
Nigeria has held numerous conferences, dialogues, peace meetings and reconciliation initiatives over several decades.
Declarations are routinely issued.
Committees are constituted.
Recommendations are presented.
But strengthening Nigeria’s national unity requires moving beyond speeches and implementing practical measures that reduce grievances and build trust.
The Sultan also called on Christians and Muslims to stop insulting one another and embrace peaceful coexistence.
https://ogelenews.ng/tinubu-urges-national-unity-says-no-difference-wort…
Abuja Declaration expected
The conference was attended by Sheikh Mohammad Al-Issa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League.
His presence is particularly significant because the conference is expected to culminate in the signing of the Abuja Declaration.
The declaration is intended to establish a new alliance involving Muslim and Christian leaders and create a peace-building mechanism capable of helping Nigeria and the wider West African region prevent religious tensions from escalating into violence.
Al-Issa has been prominent internationally in interfaith engagement and efforts to promote religious moderation.
If effectively implemented, the Abuja initiative could provide another institutional platform supporting Nigeria’s national unity.
The key phrase, however, is “effectively implemented.”
As the Sultan observed, declarations achieve little unless institutions and leaders turn them into practical action.
Nigeria’s diversity remains enormous
Nigeria’s diversity is not a new political reality.
The country’s federal structure has always attempted to accommodate differences in geography, ethnicity, language, religion and culture.
Nigeria’s Constitution also establishes citizenship rights and prohibits discrimination on specified grounds.
But constitutional provisions alone cannot create social cohesion.
Citizens must believe that government institutions treat them fairly.
Communities must have confidence that security agencies will protect them irrespective of ethnicity or religion.
Young Nigerians must also see opportunities that are not determined solely by where they come from or who they know.
In that sense, Nigeria’s national unity cannot simply be demanded.
It has to be reinforced through fair governance.
Unity should not mean silence
There is another important distinction.
Calls for national unity should never be interpreted to mean that Nigerians cannot criticise government or demand reforms.
Democratic societies depend on disagreement.
Citizens can hold different views on restructuring, federalism, resource control, economic policies, security strategy and the performance of political leaders.
They can advocate constitutional changes.
They can support different political parties.
They can challenge government policies through peaceful and lawful means.
None of those things automatically threatens Nigeria’s national unity.
The real danger emerges when political disagreement becomes incitement against communities or when religious and ethnic identities are deliberately manipulated to encourage hostility.
Tinubu’s emphasis on dialogue is therefore important.
A united Nigeria does not have to be a Nigeria in which everyone thinks alike.
It should be one where disagreements can be expressed and resolved peacefully.
Politicians face a bigger test before 2027
The message from the conference will face a practical test as the 2027 elections approach.
Political campaigns in Nigeria frequently involve regional, ethnic and religious calculations.
Candidates and parties naturally seek support from communities where they believe they have political advantages.
But there is a difference between appealing to a constituency and encouraging hostility against another one.
Political parties should therefore ensure that their campaigns do not undermine Nigeria’s national unity while competing for votes.
The warning issued by Yilwatda is particularly relevant because he leads the governing APC.
The same standard should apply to opposition parties.
Politicians should be challenged when they make statements that collectively blame religious or ethnic communities for political problems.
Electoral competition should remain a contest over policies, leadership records and competing visions for the country.
Government also has responsibilities
National unity cannot be the responsibility of citizens alone.
Government must create the conditions that make unity sustainable.
That includes ensuring equitable access to public institutions, fighting insecurity, improving economic opportunities and maintaining confidence in the justice system.
People who believe they are permanently excluded are more vulnerable to divisive political messages.
Similarly, communities that believe attacks against them are ignored may gradually lose confidence in the state.
Building Nigeria’s national unity therefore requires more than ceremonial appeals.
It requires competent governance.
Tinubu’s administration must demonstrate through policy and appointments that national belonging has practical meaning.
Federal institutions must also operate in ways that reassure citizens that their ethnicity or religion does not determine their rights.
Ogele News perspective
President Tinubu is correct that Nigeria’s differences need not destroy Nigeria.
But national unity cannot survive on slogans alone.
The most important statement at the Abuja conference may ultimately have come from the Sultan of Sokoto: Nigeria has discussed many of its problems repeatedly. The persistent weakness is implementation.
Religious leaders must reject incitement even when it comes from people who share their faith.
Political leaders must reject ethnic mobilisation even when they believe it could deliver votes.
Security agencies must protect communities impartially.
And government must ensure that citizens see fairness in the institutions established to serve them.
That is how Nigeria’s national unity becomes durable.
The proposed Abuja Declaration could make an important contribution if it creates working mechanisms for early intervention, interfaith dialogue and conflict prevention.
But another declaration that disappears into government files after the conference would achieve little.
Nigeria’s diversity is permanent.
No administration can legislate it away, and no political movement can realistically wish it out of existence.
The challenge is therefore not eliminating differences but building institutions strong enough to manage them.
Christians and Muslims will continue to worship differently. Nigeria’s ethnic communities will retain their languages, histories and cultures. Citizens will continue to disagree politically.
None of those differences must become a reason for violence.
The ultimate test of Nigeria’s national unity is not whether Nigerians agree with one another.
It is whether they can disagree, sometimes profoundly, while still recognising that they share citizenship, institutions and a common national future.
That is the harder task behind Tinubu’s appeal, and it is one that government, politicians, religious leaders and ordinary citizens must confront together.
https://punchng.com/no-difference-worth-breaking-nigeria-apart-tinubu/
