Obi urges Nigerians to pull down religious, ethnic barriers

The Labour Party presidential candidate in the last general election, Peter Obi, on Wednesday, urged Nigerians to tear down the walls of ethnic and religious divides.

He made the call in a statement to mark International Human Solidarity Day and posted on his X handle.

The former Anambra State governor lamented that ethnic and religious barriers have continuously impeded the nation’s unity and progress.

He wrote: “Today, we join the global community in celebrating the International Human Solidarity Day which is dedicated to strengthening our global unity in diversity, and to help in fostering international cooperation on the eradication of hunger and diseases at the global level.

“On the national level, Nigerians need to solemnly remind ourselves of the need to tear down the walls of ethnic and religious divisions that have continued to divide us and instead emphasize our unity and leverage our diverse and rich cultural and ethnic identities and strengths to advance our national progress.”

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He also pointed out that Nigerians have become more divided due to “bad politics and elite insensitivity” in the last few years.

“Unfortunately, we have, today as a nation, become more sharply divided than ever. Our dear nation is more polarised today than it has ever been, fueled by overwhelming tribal and religious sentiments among the people resulting in the unwillingness of Nigerians to cooperate and work together towards achieving national growth and development. This is clearly the result of bad politics and elite insensitivity.

“I, therefore, wish to use this occasion to remind Nigerians that the problems of hunger, poverty, and inequality are not specific to a particular ethnicity or religion, but cut across the nation. Thus, the task ahead of us, as political leaders and as citizens, is to continue to beat the drums of unity, social justice, and social equality to form one united front that will stand in solidarity against the many challenges that confront our nation,” he added.

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