Osinbajo added that most tribes in the country had intermarried and blended to become one and unity should be a practice, “not just a slogan or a good idea.”
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has stated that any community leader in the country who cannot accommodate and live with other tribes in his community is not fit to be a leader.
Osinbajo added that most tribes in the country had intermarried and blended to become one and unity should be a practice, “not just a slogan or a good idea.”
The Vice President stated these in the pre-convocation inaugural lecture he delivered at the Sokoto State University, Sokoto State, where the state governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and the Sultan of Sokoto were also in attendance.
Osinbajo said, “There must be no discrimination on account of religion or ethnicity. We must let people speak up and we must not sweep their demands under the carpet. This is especially the responsibility of political, religious and ethnic leaders. We are the ones who have the difficult work of mediating between the classes and segments of our society.
“Any leader who cannot tell his community the truth, any elder who cannot speak about compromise and about coming together with other tribes and other faiths in his community is undeserving of the position of leadership.
“It is our role as leaders to speak to our people, to speak to our community and to let them know that this nation is stronger together than apart. Unity is not just a slogan or a good idea. It has manifest expression in our community, when Nigerians from various backgrounds are living, trading, intermarrying and blending in various ways. We live in a complex web of multi-layered economic, political and socio-economic synergies.”
Recently, there have been eviction notices and tensions across the country due to the herdsmen’s violence particularly in the South-West and South-East regions.
The Yoruba communities have increasingly called for the eviction of the herdsmen from their domains due to the criminal activities perpetrated by the herdsmen, a situation which is currently rampant in Ondo, Ogun, Oyo and Ekiti states.