Nigeria Can’t Survive Another Civil War, APC Chieftain Warns
Dirisu Yakubu
POLITICS DIGEST – National chairmanship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Salihu Mustapha has warned against inciting comments capable of plunging the country into another civil war and instead seek peaceful means of resolving conflicts.
This is as Mustapha argued that only peaceful Nigeria will make possible the conduct of the 2023 general elections to birth a new government.
He disclosed this yesterday in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja.
According to the ex-deputy national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC; Nigerians regardless of their political affiliations must realize that they have no other country other than Nigeria and must therefore avoid the path that would quicken her balkanization.
“I condemn the attempt by some groups and persons to politicize our security challenges. As Nigerians, we should learn from the ethnic crisis in Rwanda and elsewhere. Violence has never solved any country’s problems,” he counselled.
The APC chieftain further called on Nigerians to reflect on Vice President Yemi Oshibajo’s remarks of the evil of war when he sighted a Justice of the Supreme Court of Rwanda queuing for food ration in a refugee camp.
“War or violence does not recognize religion or tribe. It is a consuming fire. It is not respecter of any body – the poor or rich; old or young,” he added.
He continued: “Unfortunate as the level of insecurity may be, politicians, persons and groups should be careful not to overheat the system. We should bear in mind that no nation survives a civil war twice. Let’s join hands with the present administration to find a lasting solution to the problems which predate this administration.
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“Nigerians who were born after the Civil war should learn lessons from Rwanda in 1994. War is bad, war is evil. Let us be properly guided.He that rushes to war or advocates war, should know that war brings death and destruction,” he further stressed.
The APC boss also enjoined fellow citizens to always canvass and preach peace and a united Nigeria, adding that “this is the time for all lovers of peace and continued existence of Nigeria to speak out.”
He appealed to the chairman of the National Peace Committee and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd) alongside other elder statesmen to speak up and calm fray nerves.
“I am calling on the General Abdulsalami Abubakar-led peace committee to rally senior citizens to talk and foster peace. 2023 would be an illusion without peace and a united Nigeria”, he stated, even as he noted that the challenges bedeviling the country today were inherited by incumbent administration.
“This insecurity challenge occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency is an inherited crisis and therefore should be tackled with all sense of responsibility by all Nigerians”, he explained.
“We should support our Armed Forces for the sacrifices that they are making for the nation. They are laying their lives for unity of Nigeria. Terrorism is a global affair and therefore all hands must be on deck to address it,” he added.
Mustapha advised advocates of State Police to take advantage of the ongoing constitution amendment exercise at the National Assembly to drum support for their position.
“Advocates of state police should take their advocacy to the National Assembly, especially now that there is an on going constitutional amendment committee.
“Nigeria is a democracy and therefore Nigerians should not behave as we are in a military government. Due process must always take its due place in all we do,” he maintained.
