A group, Citizens’ Summit for National Integration, Peace and Security, said on Friday in Abuja that Nigeria and its citizens are too strongly united to be disintegrated.
The group which is under the aegis of the National Institute for Public Relations (NIPR), after its National Planning Committee meeting, said from a National survey it conducted, a vast majority of Nigerians also want Nigeria to remain united.
Briefing newsmen, the Committee chairman, Dr. Ike Neliaku, said that since July 12 when it was inaugurated, it has visited parts of the country to consult, dialogue, meet and brainstorm with different sections of Nigerians on the “heated issues of our nationhood.
“The outcome of our consultations and deliberations appear very clearly that a greater percentage of Nigerians believe in preserving the integrity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The question that we have to ask ourselves is: ‘if Nigerians want to stay together, if Nigerians love Nigeria, if Nigerians will want Nigeria to remain, what then is the problem?’
“Our findings revealed that if certain issues that have formed the fundamentals of agitations across the country are resolved, Nigerians will prefer to live together as Nigerians.
“If matters that have caused certain misconceptions, misunderstanding and distrust, are taken care of by leadership across board, Nigerians will prefer the option of staying together and building a strong, viral and formidable nation in Africa.
“From our findings, the NIPR believes that Nigeria is too strong to disintegrate and we as professionals are committed to making the Nigerian project work,” he said.
The Chairman called on Nigerians to join hands with the NIPR and its partners to support this Citizens Summit for National Integration, Peace and Security initiative as one way of resolving any issues.
He said that some of the issues that plague the nation are issues that could easily have been resolved, one of such issues being the federal character principle which, he noted, had not been effectively managed.
He said that the Institute is partnering with over 39 organizations across the country, including women and youth groups, adding that a national discuss among citizens could offer solutions.
“The NIPR has offered her platform being a very credible, non-partisan, neutral organization whose mandate is to promote relationship building, relationship mending, reconciliation, and so on.
“Our various committees have turned out a clear pathway which can give us what we desire to have in rebuilding the process of our nationhood.
“This is not an event, it is a process. Therefore, we are starting in October from the state, through the state consultative fora, to the zones, for the zonal dialogue series, then come to the nation’s capital for the national summit which will be in November,” he said.
