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Saturday, February 12, 2022

Buhari so committed to Nigeria’s unity; fought during Civil War without break: Adesina

Nigeria has faced an uptick in separatist agitations from southern groups since Mr Buhari assumed power in 2015.

• February 12, 2022
Mr. Femi Adesina (Credit: The Interview)
Mr. Femi Adesina (Credit: The Interview)

President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman Femi Adesina Friday told tales of how the president fought to secure Nigeria as one entity by remaining at the warfront throughout the three-year Civil War.

Nigeria has faced an uptick in separatist agitations from southern groups since Mr Buhari assumed power in 2015. Many blame the president’s nepotistic actions for the development.

Speaking with a delegation of Black Apple Media Group, a movie making outfit who visited him in his office, Mr Adesina berated those attempting to cause disunity or dismemberment of the country.

He noted that Mr Buhari had always been committed to the unity of the country.

“By age 20, he joined the army, by 25, he was already at the civil war fighting for the unity of this country,” Mr Adesina narrated, ”Mr President himself has always said it that for three years that the war lasted, he was there throughout, he didn’t go for any break, he didn’t ask for any pass, he was at the war front.”

The presidential aide said proponents of Nigeria’s disintegration are working in vain.

”All those who are trying to cause commotion, cause disunity, cause dismemberment, I think they just struggle in vain, it will not happen. Nigeria will be together.”

Mr Adesina commended the media group’s initiative to produce movies and documentaries towards the promotion of unity and peaceful coexistence in Nigeria.

“That is why we must commend an initiative like this, anything that will promote unity, that will promote togetherness, that will show the evil of fake news, hate speech is something that will be supported.

”So, I want to assure you that as the Media Office of the President, we will support this initiative,” he added.

The leader of the group, Andy Chukwu, said his team came up with the idea of the movie project – The Hero, to tackle the impact of fake news on social media.

”The movie deals with unity, peaceful co-existence and promotes inter-ethnic marriages. Considering the situations we are in now, we can’t need it at any better time than now,” Mr Chukwu explained.

He hoped that the movie, targeted at people from all walks of life, from the youth, the market women, the captains of industry, would “educate the people on the need for us to stay in peace, on the need for us to stay united, for us to encourage peaceful co-existence.

”Because there is absolutely nothing that will stop the Easterners from living in the West, or the Northerners from living in the East.”

He expressed the group’s desire to have the movie translated to major languages of Nigeria for a deeper penetration.

Other members of the group were Lisa Onu, David Fiase, Tony Ezimadu and Nazareth Jesse.

(NAN)

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