Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general election, and the South East national assembly caucus, have expressed concerns at the growing tendency of some people to sow seeds of disunity in the country.
Writing against the backdrop of some persons threatening genocide against the Igbo in Lagos, Obi said such divisive acts should be thoroughly investigated and swiftly nipped in the bud by leaders.
He said that these challenging times in the country call for all hands to be on deck to reset the country for development, noting that all these alienating utterances from some misguided characters should be discouraged and stopped immediately
"Nobody is a better Nigerian than the other and this should inform our attitude while relating to one another.
Writing further on his X handle platform on Friday Obi said,"I am deeply disturbed, reading some genocidal threats on X against the Igbo tribe, calling for their relocation.
"Let me respectfully warn that such rhetoric threatens our unity and is fundamentally opposed to our Constitution, which guarantees every Nigerian the right to live and work freely anywhere in the country.
"Those in authority must show leadership and urgently speak out against such divisive rhetoric. Immediate action should be taken to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those behind this heinous agenda, serving as a deterrent to others who might consider pursuing similar paths that threaten our national security and unity.
"I urge all Nigerians to stand united against this divisive rhetoric and to champion unity, tolerance, and understanding. Our future depends on our ability to live and work together harmoniously.
"The government and security agencies must act swiftly to protect this fundamental principle and ensure that every Nigerian can live free from fear of discrimination or persecution."
Similarly, the South East National Assembly Caucus strongly condemned what it said is the continued ethnic profiling of Igbos over the nationwide #Endbadgovernance protest across the country.
A statement signed by the southeast leaders of both chambers of the National Assembly, Senator Enyinaya Abaribe and Rt. Hon Igariwey Iduma Enwo further described as unfortunate and dangerous the ethnic profiling of Igbos in the ongoing mass protests across the country.
“For the records, the Igbo nation, in obedience to the advice of their leaders, Governors, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, parliamentarians and others in the private sector had taken a reasoned and strategic decision not to participate in the on-going nationwide protests” the statement emphasized adding this was evident in the relative calm experienced in the five South Eastern states.
“We are, therefore, surprised and disappointed, that Igbos are still made scapegoats, and targeted as instigators of protests, as shown in several statements (such as the Igbo Must Go hashtag and call by a certain ‘Lagospedia’ X(Twitter) handle) and videos trending online.
“This dangerous ethnic profiling is unwarranted, and must stop. It was such profiling that led to the millions of deaths in Nigeria from the 1950’s to the unfortunate civil war in 1967 to 1970. Elsewhere in Africa it led to the genocide in Rwanda and the xenophobia in South Africa.
“We demand that the security agencies bring to book the purveyors of this hate speeches in line with the cybercrimes act while we continue to appeal to Igbos across the country to stay away from the protests, and remain law abiding”
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