The President said this in his nationwide broadcast this morning, following his return from London where he spent more than 100 days receiving medical attention.
He said, “In 2003 after I joined partisan politics, the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu came and stayed as my guest in my hometown Daura. Over two days we discussed in great depth till late into the night and analyzed the problems of Nigeria. We both came to the conclusion that the country must remain one and united.
“Nigeria’s unity is settled and not negotiable. We shall not allow irresponsible elements to start trouble and when things get bad they run away and saddle others with the responsibility of bringing back order, if necessary with their blood.”
The President also said all Nigerian have the right to live anywhere in the country, in an apparent response to the quit notice issued to Igbos by northern youth groups.
“Every Nigerian has the right to live and pursue his business anywhere in Nigeria without let or hindrance. I believe the very vast majority of Nigerians share this view,” he said.
Although he admitted that some of the concerns behind agitations in the country are legitimate, the President believes there are better avenues to seek redress for grievances than to violate the country’s laws and threaten the unity of the nation.
“This is not to deny that there are legitimate concerns. Every group has a grievance. But the beauty and attraction of a federation is that it allows different groups to air their grievances and work out a mode of co-existence,” he said.
“The National Assembly and the National Council of State are the legitimate and appropriate bodies for national discourse. The national consensus is that, it is better to live together than to live apart.”
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