Acting President Prof Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday, urged the 36 state Governors at a meeting in Abuja not to play politics with National Security matters even as he promised that the federal government will do everything possible to maintain peace and stability in the country.
Prof Osinbajo spoke at the fifth consultative meeting with governors on the expressions of discontent by northern youths and various agitations across the country, appealed to the governors to speak out forcefully against the ugly situation or risk a degeneration of the situation.
He said, “The careless use of words and careless expressions” that might degenerate into crisis.
He said: “”We are a people that like to talk and we express ourselves loudly but it is expected for us to recognise that it is those same words that can cause conflagration that can, unfortunately, lead to calamity.
“”We must be careful of how we express ourselves.
“What we have seen in recent times is that some of the languages used have tended to degenerate badly and I think that we must begin to speak up against some of these things and ensure that we protect our democracy and our nation from the hands of rhetorics that may just divide us.”
The consultations followed the recent quit notice given to Igbos in the North by Arewa youths, in reaction to the continued agitation for secession by groups in the South East.
The Acting President equally emphasised the need to address the herdsmen and farmers crisis in states, describing the problems as multi-dimensional and requiring urgent attention by state governors to resolve the disputes.
The meeting with Governors is part of Prof Osinbajo’s dialogue with the various stakeholders in the country as the nation grapples with the rising tension generated by the various agitations and hate speeches in recent times.
