President of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has advised Nigerian leaders not to ignore concerns by any part of the country decrying the marginalisation of its people.
Senator Lawan, gave the warning on Wednesday, in an address delivered at the presentation of a book titled, “Foundations of Nigeria’s Unity.”
He warned that doing so would only decimate their patriotism and erect walls of division among the country’s regions, as well as further inflame calls for secession.
The book was authored by the Senator representing Cross Rivers Central and the Governorship Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in Cross River State, Sandy Onor.
The Senate President who was a special guest at the event held in Abuja, said, “There is no part of this country that does not cry about marginalisation from time to time, but, I think, some of these tendencies of pull-away are centrifugal tendencies created by the elites.
“It is our duty as leaders to look into those genuine calls when our citizens complain, and Where we find justifications, we shouldn’t shy away from addressing those calls to make our citizens more patriotic.
“It is a proven fact, as the book argues, that nations are made by men and women, by peoples and communities, who are painstaking in efforts at staying as one, and harnessing their diversities for greatness.
“This process has been the hallmark of nations in history, which is why some of the greatest nations on planet earth are neither completely homogenous nor heterogeneous,” he added.
PIAK
