Accepting one another is basis for unity, Atiku charges Nigerian ethnic groupings

*Says nepotism is destroyer of national unity

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has charged the different ethnic nationalities to accept one another to achieve national unity.

Speaking on the topic ‘Unity in Diversity’ at the Arewa House, Kaduna on Thursday, he said accepting one another and resolving to co- habit is the fulcrum of unity.

He said “the unity of Nigeria should be about acceptance; accepting that we are one and united people for a common purpose – Nigeria.

“The unity we aspire cannot be without acceptance. We have to accept that it is okay for someone to speak, believe, live, act and associate differently from us.

“Acceptance and peaceful coexistence are just the plants, but justice is the seed.

“Unity in diversity is living in peace despite the differences among people. It is about acceptance, not even tolerance. Because when you tolerate something, you endure it, you don’t embrace it.

“We have to move from enduring each other to accepting each other. We may tolerate what we may not accept, but we cannot accept what we cannot tolerate”.

He added that there is no way Nigerians can have security and patriotism, and achieve their development potentials without justice and equity, stressing that if people are led fairly, they will embrace each other and imbue patriotism.

Atiku went further to warn that when competence and hard work are no longer rewarded and when leaders are elected and appointed based on ethnicity and kinship, the nation is doomed to disintegrate.

“Nepotism is the number one destroyer of national unity. I know a lot of capable Nigerians who migrated to other developed countries and excel very well out there, and they never regretted leaving Nigeria, because they believed there was no level playing ground for them to excel here. Would you blame them?

“No, we cannot blame them. But I have a message for them, and likewise for all Nigerians. I promise you all that Nigeria can get better and this sad situation can be overturned.

We only need the right leadership that sees everyone as equal. The right leadership that recognizes only competence and hard work. Not the leadership that sees and recognizes only friends and families.

“Throughout my life, I have never looked at Nigerians as diverse people. In my eyes, all Nigerians are the same. When I see you, I don’t see Yoruba, or Hausa, or Igbo or Fulani, or a northerner or southerner, when I see you I only see a Nigerian, and I expect the best from you.

“That’s why I did not preselect who or from where I should marry. I married women from diverse backgrounds because I don’t look at their backgrounds, I only see them as wonderful Nigerian women.

“My children have brothers and sisters from many diverse backgrounds. That is why I am confident to promise you that a strongly united Nigeria is possible because I made it happen in my family.

“All Nigerians are equal and should be seen and treated equally.

“Therefore, unity is not about homogeneity or tolerance, it is about accepting the diversity and differences between us, not using these differences as a yardstick for judging others.

“This kind of unity cannot be achieved by accident, there have to be strategic efforts to promote unity”, he said.