President Goodluck Jonathan for the second time yesterday emphasized that those predicting the disintegration of Nigeria will be disappointed.
The president stated this when he received a cross section of Muslim faithful who came to pay him Sallah homage at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The vice president led the delegation, who were mostly Abuja residents.
According to the president, given the diversity of Nigeria, those things which units us are greater than those that divide the nation.
He noted that some of the problems the country is experiencing are temporary and largely being fuelled by some selfish elites.
“Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters and we must live together. Those who are predicting that this country will separate in 2015, based on the fault lines as at the time of the amalgamation, know that this prediction will not be of any consequence. Nigeria will continue to remain one indivisible country” he said.
President Jonathan explained that Nigeria’s uniqueness is borne of its position as a deeply religious people of Christians and Muslims, saying that that is the country’s unique advantage.
“For us, we cannot imagine a Nigeria without Muslims and Christians. You can call it another name, but not Nigeria, so it is a blessing that this is one country that you have significant population of Muslims and Christians and this religious diversity will enhance our development because we can get across the whole world; wherever we go we are accepted. That helps us in so many ways. We are not even exploiting our diversity because of the myopic views of the elites about our situations” he said.
He further congratulated all Muslims for a successful fasting and he described it as “tempting period”.
President Jonathan reiterated the commitment of his administration to reposition the country for better.
He called for more prayers not just for peace in the country but in the world, saying that there can be no development without peace.
“Today is a unique day, and I urge our Muslim brothers and sisters that they should continue to pray for peace not just in Nigeria but all over the world. If you watch television these days, more than 60 percent of the time is spent on showing crises all over the world and for the world to move ahead and for Nigeria to move ahead, for us to develop first and foremost, there must be peace and security, nobody will come and invest in an environment where you are not sure of your workers and investment.
“As a nation, for our children to get where we want them to be, we must create a very peaceful environment for them so they can develop mentally and be focused and use their brains in a manner that will bring economic changes to us.
Vice President Namadi Sambo in his remark earlier thanked President Jonathan for providing the required leadership in the country.
“We are here to pay homage and to thank you for what you have been doing for Nigeria. The month of Ramadan is a holy month”.
“We appreciate your fatherly nature, you have been a teacher; you have been a father and good leader. We continue to pray that the transformation agenda which is already showing effect in this country especially in the area of power supply and transport will continue. Today we have railway in this country after over 40 years. I call on all Nigerians to continue to support Mr. President and this administration” he said.
Present at the occasion were the FCT minister, Bala Mohammed, minister of state for FCT, OloJumoke Akinjide, Senator Andy Uba, Senator Philip Ajuda, former minister of sports, Ismaila Sambawa, Chief Imam of Abuja National Mosque, Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Saheed Ibrahim, Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar and Senator Amadu Ali.