Nigeria cannot afford another civil war, says Osinbajo

Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo discloses that Nigeria cannot afford another civil war because it will not bode well for the nation.

Osinbajo declared this at an interactive forum of All Progressives Congress Anambra governorship aspirants coordinated by the state chapter of APC Patriots in Abuja.

He said, “The thing about the kind of conflict in this part of the world, developing countries, is that it is usually a war without end.

“Everyone who thinks he has some monies stored up somewhere will eventually run out of money.

“Everyone who thinks he can go and hide somewhere, won’t even find a place to hide, in the end, everyone will suffer.

“Even if you don’t suffer, parents, children, young and old people, and relations will suffer. We cannot afford another civil war in this country, we can’t afford it.”

The Vice-President said the political aristocracy must stand up to the challenge by being honest and adopting measures to tackle the condition in the nation.

He stated, “I pray that our country will never know conflict, but I know that every conflict is as a result of elite failure to speak up the truth and tell the truth to their communities.

“At the end of the day, it is the political elite that determine what happens in every society, keeping quiet could lead to a more dangerous situation.”

Osinbajo added that the elite could make an enormous change just by the words they express.

He said, “If we don’t speak up against disunity, if we keep quiet and remain under the radar, the enemies of peace and those who want to promote disunity will have their ways.

“And when this happens, we will find ourselves running helter-skelter.”

The Vice President, therefore, appealed to the political elite in the nation to continuously communicate and represent the interest of the nation and its citizens.

He guaranteed the APC aspirants that the leadership of the party would guarantee a level-playing field for them at the primary election scheduled in June to make sure that the best aspirant came out as the candidate.

Osinbajo, however, urged them to work in unity and dedication to the party.

He said, “No one politician can win an election all by himself. I also want to advise you against the winner takes all syndrome.”