The immediate past Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District and gubernatorial candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the last election, Hope Uzodinma has cautioned political leaders against making divisive statements.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in his Omuma country home in Imo State on Monday, he urged Igbo living in the North and Fulani herders living in the South to go about their businesses, saying that they should not panic over inflammatory statements by some elements in the country.
Senator Uzodinma was reacting to the recent statement by a coalition of some groups in the north calling on Fulani herdsmen in the south to come back home.
He urged the people to keep faith with the assurances given by President Muhammadu Buhari that the security of lives and properties of all Nigerians was guaranteed every where in the country and that those who breached the peace will be brought to book.
Recall that a group of Northern Youths backed by some elders had last week, called on Fulani herdsmen in the South to return to the North citing alleged provocative statements by some Southern leaders as evidence that they were not safe in the south.
But Uzodinma who frowned at the comments, urged politicians to stop heating up the polity by politicizing security matters, adding that, “we all must believe in the ability of our President who is a tested General in the Army to find solution to the challenges.”
According to him, “I have the full confidence that the federal government has both the will and might to secure the lives and properties of all Nigerians everywhere in the land”.
He further urged N’digbo not to panic and go about their normal businesses in the nook and cranny of the nation, “because I know that our security is guaranteed.”
“There is no nation today that is not facing security challenges, even in Europe and America but the question is whether the government of the day is tackling. In the case of Nigeria, yes President Buhari is tackling it.
“Our soldiers are better equipped today than before Mr President came in. And today there is no local government under the grip of Boko Haram any more in Nigeria unlike during the PDP.
“So we must commend the efforts of Mr President and our Armed Forces who have brought insurgents to their knees. All we need to do now as politicians is to desist from inflammatory comments and support the laudable efforts being made by this administration in finding lasting solution to the situation”, he stated.
