posted June 11, 2023
A former Director General of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Earl Osaro Onaiwu has decried the attitude of politicians using religion and ethnicity to divide Nigerians.
Onaiwu gave the admonition in a Democracy Day goodwill message to the nation on Monday, June 12, saying it was time to build Nigeria into a formidable democracy devoid of religious and other retrogressive considerations.
Part of the message reads, “June 12, 1993, marked the end of religious and ethnic manipulations of our people. Religion has been used for too long to divide Nigerians and the time has come to put a stop to it. We normally do not question the religion of the pilot before we board our flights, neither do we ask for the religion of the owner before we buy from the supermarket or filling stations.”
Continuing, the former NGF DG said, “It behooves the new National Assembly members to elect quality and sound leadership that’s capable of improving Legislative activism, especially in the area of making good laws. They too, must shun religious, ethnic, and other primordial fixations and elect those who can represent the interest of Nigerians well,” said Onaiwu.
The Edo State-born
politician saluted Nigerians for their resilience and faith in the quest to ethroning a solid and sustainable democratic ethos for the country.
Furthermore, Onaiwu encouraged Nigerians not to lose faith in democracy as it’s still the global practice for development.