D-G National Orientation Agency Faults Nyako’s Letter To Northern Govs, Urges Caution

The Director General of the National Orientation Agency, Mr.  Mike Omeri, has described the letter written by Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State to the 19 northern states’ governors, in which he accused the Federal Government of fuelling the security challenges in the country, as distortion of facts.

Omeri, who was speaking in Jos, the Plateau State capital, after a town hall meeting with stakeholders on how to find lasting peace in the troubled state on Thursday, especially the clashes between the natives and Fulani herdsmen, also described the memo as unfortunate and capable of misleading Nigerians on issues bothering on insurgency in the country.

The NOA boss warned politicians to watch their utterances in this trying times, saying that such unguarded comments were capable of eroding the confidence of the populace in the ability of the Federal Government to fight the insurgents and maintain peace.

He, therefore, appealed to Nyako and other Nigerians, who harbour such ill-feelings towards the Federal Government, to desist from fanning the embers of violence and direct their grievances to the appropriate quarters.

He said, “Our country is passing through some turbulent moments and all we can do at this time is to seek ways of nurturing peace which will ensure development in the country”.

Addressing the stakeholders, who cut across indigenous tribes and representatives of the Fulani herdsmen, Mr. Omeri urged all to embrace peace and rally round to save the country from collapse.

He said, “We need to show example in leadership. A chief executive of a state does not show an example of a good leader if he does not deliberately embark on such measures that would promote internal cohesion among Nigerians.

“We need committed Nigerians, who won’t leave Nigeria for Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Congo or anywhere to rise up and speak with one voice and save Nigeria from chaos before playing politics.

“Nigeria needs to be peaceful for development. Nigeria is a country of consensus, even though some politicians conspire to divide our commonwealth and set us against one another, we need to rise above this by respecting one another”.

Information Nigeria reports that the meeting was attended by stakeholders from the different tribes, including representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Jama’atul Nasir Islam, traditional rulers and government agencies, among others.

At the end of the meeting it was agreed by all present that for peace to be maintained, there must be mutual respect for one another. They also agreed that lasting peace could be maintained if Nigerians avoid deliberate provocation.