Nigeria stronger together – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigerians are better together and stronger notwithstanding occasional inter-ethnic tensions in the country.

Buhari spoke at the 12th Bola Tinubu Colloquium held in Kano on Monday. “Despite occasional inter-ethnic tensions in our national history, it seems to me that we have all agreed on one point that notwithstanding our diversity of ethnicity, culture, language and religion, Nigerians are better together; even stronger together,’’ Buhari said.

The president, who participated virtually in the event to mark the 69th birthday of the former two-term governor of Lagos State, praised Tinubu for being an advocate of unity and cohesion in Nigeria.

“This has been a constant factor in his outstanding political career, from the time he served in the short-lived Senate of the 3rd Republic to his involvement in the struggle for the actualisation of the June 12 mandate of the late Chief MKO Abiola, to his much-acclaimed period of service as Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007.

“The ranks of Asiwaju’s political collaborators, whether as party members, comrades in the struggle, members of his cabinet, or his advisers, assistants and political associates, have always reflected a pan-Nigeria attitude.

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“I believe all of us here can also confirm that the same outlook of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other like-minded Nigerians eventually made possible the coalition of four political parties into what we now see as our great party, the All Progressives Congress,’’ he said.

According to him, the objectives of the colloquium, which seeks to provide answers to national issues, further reflect the personal principles of Tinubu in promoting the unity and welfare of the country.

“I think this colloquium is a fitting reflection of the service that Asiwaju has given, not only to Lagos State but to Nigeria and Africa; as well as his continuing commitment and influence, as one of the great pillars of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Meanwhile, Tinubu at the event urged the Federal Government to recruit at least 50 million youths into the Nigerian Army to boost the country’s fight against terrorism, banditry and all forms of internal and external security threats confronting the nation.

According to him, “We are under-policed and we are competing with armed robbers and bandits to recruit from the youths who are unemployed —33 per cent unemployed?”

“Recruit 50 million youths into the army,” he stated, adding that “what they will eat —cassava, corn, yam, will grow here.”

Reacting to recent statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that over 23 million Nigerians are jobless, Tinubu urged the government to create jobs for youths in the agricultural value chains.

“Don’t talk about illiteracy; anybody who can handle a gun, who can cock and shoot is technically competent to repair a tractor in the farm”, he said.

The colloquium held in Kano was themed, ‘Our Common Bond, Our Common Wealth: The Imperative of National Cohesion for Growth and Prosperity’.