Bode George to Nigerians: Renew your faith in one Nigeria, pray for Buhari

Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has called on Nigerians to renew their faith in the unity of the country and refrain from acts that could threaten its corporate existence.
George made the call in Lagos on Thursday.
He said the country was better together in spite of its challenges, adding that the problems would be surmounted with the collective efforts of everyone.
The PDP chieftain decried calls and agitation for the dismemberment of the country along ethnic and regional lines, saying such were unpatriotic and would not do anyone any good.
He urged people making such calls under whatever guise to drop the idea, saying as a patriot, he would not support any threat to the unity of the country.
“I am a patriot. My commitment to the Nigerian state cannot wobble. On this platform I hold, this is where I stand.
“Unfortunately, there is a certain disturbing divisive temper across our nation today. Everywhere, there is an unfortunate passion of ethnic fixity.
“We must all step away from the abyss. We must all sheathe our swords. Enough of these provocations of national destabilisation.
“Instead, we must all talk to each other. We must all listen to each other. We must encourage an appreciation of each other’s asset, ‘’ the PDP chieftain said.
George said the nation’s current problems were normal in any union and were curable with unity of purpose of everyone.
He said diversity should be an advantage for the country and not a demerit, pointing out that America and some other countries thrived on their multi-cultural status.
The PDP chieftain said the prosperity of Lagos, owing to the contributions of the different ethnic groups, should inspire national unity.
He said the bitter fall outs of the fragmentation of the old Yugoslavia and the balkanisation of Sudan should serve as a lesson for Nigeria to stay united.
George, however, said it was the right of any aggrieved group to complain of marginalisation but that such should not be fashioned in a way that suggested violence.
He condemned the quit notice given to people in parts of the country, saying such was an aberration in a federation.
George commended the Federal Government for its interventions at dousing the tension created by the order.
He said there was the need for former leaders of the country, especially the principal actors in the country’s civil war, to support government efforts at promoting unity.
The PDP chieftain said since they governed the country at a critical point of the country’s history, they would be able to convince some “misguided people’’ about the follies of calling for division.
George said restructuring had been given different connotations to favour agenda that were inimical to national unity.
He said the kind of restructuring he would support was one that would make the centre weaker and empower the states.
George said a system in which the states controlled about 70 per cent of their resources and income would promote national development.
“I am opposed to calls to go back to the regional arrangement because it is no more feasible.
“You cannot force somebody in Lagos or Ekiti to move to Ibadan which used to be the capital of the old Western region.
“We are better with the states that we have now. The kind of restructuring I will support is one that makes the centre weaker and allows the states to have more like 70 per cent.
“Also, policing is a local issue as we have in most advanced countries. This is the kind of restructuring I think will promote national development,’’ he said.
On the health of President Muhammadu Buhari, he said the president was human and so could fall sick.
He urged all citizens to pray for the quick recovery of the president so that he could return to the business of governance.
George described the gloating about the president’s health in some quarters as inhuman, saying it was an over-stretch of the terrain of politics.
He urged such people to desist from the practice, as God and the two main religions forbade what they were doing.