Fight Ethnic, ReligIous, Poor-Rich Divisions, Sanusi Advises Nigerians

By Eneole Otorkpa, Abuja  

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has  decried the deepening division among Nigerians along ethnic and religous lines.

He also appealed to the citizens to support security agencies to end the worsening security challenges  in  the country.

He warned that the country could not overcome its security challenges without the citizens’ active  participation at the community level.

At the Projects 774 Network National Citizens- Stakeholders’ Engagement in Abuja, themed “Supporting Our Troops, Strengthening National Unity and Advancing Peace and Development,” Sanusi said Nigerians had become increasingly divided along ethnic, religious and class lines, eroding the country’s sense of national identity.

He said the growing gap between the rich and the poor had weakened the culture of shared prosperity, stressing that wealth should benefit society as a whole rather than remain concentrated among a privileged few.

“We have become a highly divided society. We place everyone into an ethnic or religious category and forget our national identity. Citizenship in Nigeria is not about ethnicity. A Nigerian is a Nigerian,” he said.

The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria expressed concern over the rising wave of killings and kidnappings, saying the country had become dangerously desensitised to the loss of human lives.

“It is sad that human life has become worthless. Every day, we read that people have been killed or kidnapped.

It has become almost like the weather report,” he said.

Sanusi urged Nigerians to stop shielding criminals within their communities, insisting that bandits, kidnappers and other criminals were known to relatives, neighbours and community members.

He also identified drug abuse as one of the major drivers of violent crime, calling on citizens to expose drug traffickers and dealers to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

“The drug problem in this country is at the heart of many of our challenges. We know those who bring in the drugs and those who sell them. Why are we reluctant to report them?” he asked.

According to him, tackling insecurity requires more than military operations, saying lasting peace can only be achieved through collective action involving communities, traditional institutions and security agencies.

Also speaking, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, appealed to Nigerians to support the proposed state police initiative by persuading state governors and members of state Houses of Assembly to back the constitutional amendment.

He said security remained everyone’s responsibility and described it as the foundation for economic growth and national prosperity.

The National Coordinator of Projects 774 Network, Alhaji Ibrahim, said military operations alone could not end terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, insisting that citizens in all the 774 local government areas must become active partners in securing their communities.

“We believe that our security is our duty. Citizens must no longer be spectators in the fight against insecurity,” he said.

The Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, said the Federal Government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to establish a military industrial complex at Ajaokuta.

According to him, the project will support local production of military hardware, including rifles, helmets, protective vests and ammunition, while creating jobs and strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture.

President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Daniel Okoh, urged Nigerians to embrace love, unity and patriotism, saying leaders should govern with a national outlook rather than ethnic, religious or regional interests.

He called on citizens to support and pray for their leaders, warning that leadership failure ultimately affects the entire nation.

Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Sunday Bontur Lugard advocated greater community participation in security management and proposed that traditional rulers should chair state police governing boards whenever the proposed policing framework becomes operational.

He said integrating traditional institutions into the country’s security architecture would improve intelligence gathering and strengthen grassroots policing.