— Urge Nigerians to shun ethnicity, religious bigotry

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, has stressed the need for Nigerians to make deliberate efforts to build a stronger national identity that transcends ethnic, religious and cultural differences.

Senator representing Edo North, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and former Kano State Governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, also supported the call, urging Nigerians to shun ethnic and religious biases.

Speaking at the 7th National Discourse, themed, “Interrogating Nigeria’s Democracy in the Context of Multiple Diversity,” held at the J.F. Ade Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos, UNILAG, Akoka, Lagos, on Sunday, Hamzat said Nigeria’s political system must find effective ways to accommodate its diverse identities without allowing them to undermine national unity.

According to him, ethnic and religious identities remain deeply rooted in the country’s social and political life, adding that the challenge was not to eliminate such identities but to prevent them from becoming instruments of division.

“The question that sociologists have not told us is how we marry our culture and democracy, without losing our identity and putting it into our democratic setting. And I think that will be the issue for us.

“As Nigerians, we must learn to accommodate our differences while we are also promoting a common national identity. The experience of other multi-ethnic societies showed the dangers of allowing identity and class differences to fuel conflict among us,” the deputy governor said.

He advocated greater religious tolerance and adherence to the core teachings of Islam and Christianity, urging citizens to respect the faith of others rather than use religion as a basis for discrimination.

Hamzat also stressed the importance of culture in strengthening national unity and urged Nigerians to preserve their cultural heritage while building a common national identity.

Oshiomhole, in his contribution, called on Nigerians to shun ethnic and religious divisions and build a nation where leadership is determined by competence, ideas and values rather than place of birth or religious affiliation.

He added that ethnicity and religion should not be used as tools for political mobilisation or to shield leaders from accountability.

The senator said Nigeria’s diversity should be regarded as an asset capable of driving national development rather than a source of division, noting that a society where citizens are treated fairly irrespective of ethnicity, religion or place of birth would experience greater development.

“Our ethnicity shouldn’t be a source of challenge. It should give us all of the things that we need to be the greatest country, not only in Africa but in the world.

“This ethnicity is very dysfunctional. Nobody should be rewarded or punished on account of an accident of birth. Ethnicity has very little or no role to play, except to function as a tool in the hands of a segment of the political elite who substitute ethnicity in place of ideas,” Oshiomhole said.

While urging political leaders and citizens to embrace a broader sense of Nigerian identity, the senator said the country’s abundant human and natural resources could make it one of the greatest nations in Africa and the world if properly harnessed.

In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion, Shekarau, called for greater religious tolerance and understanding among Nigerians, saying there was no justification for religious conflict in a country where citizens, regardless of their faith, are all creations of Allah.

Shekarau urged Nigerians to deepen their understanding of the teachings of their respective religions, noting that all faiths promote values such as love, kindness, justice and respect for others.

He stressed that if Nigerians genuinely practised the teachings of their religions, the country would be a better place to live, adding that religious differences should not be allowed to fuel conflict or division.

Identifying consultation, fairness and respect for divergent views as essential principles of politics and good governance, the former governor cautioned political leaders against pursuing personal interests at the expense of the people.

Earlier, the National Amir of The Companion, Imam Noreem Jimoh, said the event was convened to critically examine the challenges confronting Nigeria’s democracy within the context of its diversity.

He urged Nigerians to interrogate the country’s democratic journey and seek practical ways to make it work more effectively, particularly in managing the nation’s ethnic, religious, cultural and regional diversities.

Jimoh added that Nigeria’s enormous ethnic, linguistic, religious, cultural, regional, economic and social diversity remained both a source of strength and a major challenge to nation-building.

He noted that while the country’s diversity gives it significant potential, its effective management remains critical to the success of its democracy.

He stressed that the ability of the democratic system to accommodate and harness those differences was one of the key issues the event sought to address.

In his lecture, themed “Nigeria’s Political Landscape and the Ethno-Religious Divides: Interrogating Nigeria’s Democracy in the Context of Multi-Diversity,” former Director-General of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, ASCON, Prof. Liasu Jinadu, identified ethnicity as a major factor that has shaped Nigeria’s political development since the colonial era, particularly through the country’s ethno-regional political structure and multi-party system.

According to him, political elites have exploited ethnic identities to establish patron-client relationships and secure political support, thereby weakening state institutions and undermining the autonomy of government.

He maintained that ethnicity had consequently been used to mask issues of political impunity, corruption, patronage and abuse of political power.

Jinadu charged that citizens must be empowered to participate meaningfully in governance, irrespective of their ethnic or religious identities.

He maintained that the denial of economic and social opportunities, transparency, protective security and other basic freedoms prevents citizens from fully exercising their rights.

He therefore called for a political system that places citizenship, human security and human development above ethnic interests, in line with the principles of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.

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