A United One Nigeria Is Possible, Says Group

Posted by Ignatius Okpara Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Thursday, May 18th, 2023

…….Names Falae, Kwankwaso, Okowa, Others National Patrons.

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – A pro-national movement, under the plartform of North-South Progressive Movement, NOSOP, has named a former presdential Candidate, Chief Olu Falae; 2023 Presidential flagbearer of New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; Vice Presdential candidate of PDP, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; among other personalities as national patrons of the body.

The organisation disclosed this Wednesday in Enugu at it’s 2023 First National Meeting,. adding that others are Senator Godswill Akpabio; former governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State; Arch Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma of the Enugu Anglican Ecclesiastical Provine as well as the Roman Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Prof. Godfrey Onah.

Speaking on the theme of the meeting , “Promoting Nigerians and Inspiring Faith in One Nigeria,” National coordinator of the. Body Chief John Nwobodo stated that a united, one Nigeria is possible in spite of ethnic and religious differences that characterised Nigeria at the moment.

According to him, “Nigeria is a continuing possibility despite the inundating factors which often beset genuine efforts at inspiring faith in one Nigeria.

” Furthermore, with members coming from all parts of Nigeria confirms our resolve to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under God, as enunciated in the preamble to the Nigerian Constitution.

“Against the backdrop of pessimism about one Nigeria by many of our countrymen and women, we feel a burning duty to stand in the gap and be the shining light as agents of unity and poised to quell and quench the voices of dissents,” Nwobodo posited.

“Nigeria has come of age; reckoned from the amalgamation in 1914, we are in our 109th year. We have passed many phases in our evolution as a country: colonial rule, independence era, the first republic, the Military take-over and coups, a 30-month old civil war, the second republic, the aborted third republic and now, the fourth republic.

“We have seen ups and downs, the good, the bad, and the ugly but in all we are more than conquerors. It is my conviction that since we have remained together till now that we are destined to co-exist and we must do all we can to make the co-existence peaceful and fulfilling. It is indeed not a task that can be achieved overnight. For this purpose, NOSOP was formed,” he explained.

The national coordinator said that NOSOP was formed in early 2020 as a pan Nigerian, detribalized and non-partisan association of patriots with promotion of peace and unity as its core objectives, noting that the objective was expressed in two out of their 4-point creed to wit:

“We believe that we can break the walls of ethnicity and religious bigotry which have held us backward as a nation;

“We believe that North or South, we are brothers and we are friends.”

Nwobodo equally noted that no matter whatever that causes disunited among Nigerians, they are not surmountable, hence they formed the association to bring all Nigerians into one umbrella of unity and progress.

He however acknowledged the Nigerian diversities but pointed out that they should not be allowed to be stumbling blocks to unity.

“It follows that though we might have loyalty to our various tribes, ethnic, sectional or religious groups, such loyalty should not override our loyalty to our country,” he said.

He however regretted that the period of the recent electioneering campaigns and the general election tested Nigerians’ loyalty.

“For most Nigerians, their loyalty to Nigeria was overshadowed by their loyalty to tribe and religion. The election was fought on the fault-lines of religion and ethnicity and since the elections the acrimony generated thereby has remained.

“Ethnic profiling was rife in some part of the country; a dangerous trend as never before witnessed. It left us with both a bitter and a sour taste.

“For us in NOSOP, what transpired in some parts of the country during the election is the exact opposite of what we advocate.

” It is with a view to stepping advocacy for peace that we have convened this National Officers’ Meeting to appraise and analyze all the incidents that have come to our knowledge with a view to forestalling a reoccurrence in the future and to set a roadmap for our activities.”

Nwobodo, asserted that “wth our presence in the 36 States and in the FCT, we have the structure and spread to mobilize the citizens towards a new orientation for peaceful co-existence and national unity eschewing all divisive tendencies and building a common destiny through our diversity. “

The event attracted personalities from various parts of Nigeria.