Runsewe, Sirajo,50 Others Float New Coalition to Forge National Unity

Emmanuel Addeh

Fifty two Nigerians, including the President, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Mr. Mukhtar Sirajo, Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC),Mr. Segun Runsewe and his counterpart at the National Orientation Agency (NOA) Dr. Garba Abari have set up a new group aimed at fostering national integration.

At the inauguration of the national planning committee in Abuja, the group which described itself as non-political, stated that no segment of Nigeria must be left out in the search for Nigeria’s rebirth, noting that from September, it will begin to criss-cross the 36 states of the federation to complement ongoing military efforts.

Sirajo lamented that a scan through most of the news items about Nigeria today will indicate that there is an urgent need for restoration of peace, security, confidence and mutual understanding in the polity with unprecedented violent occurrences throughout the length and breadth of the country.

“Ethnic and tribal chauvinists are fast assuming the role of celebrities and role models for our children. Our nation seems to be at war on many fronts at the same time – violence and violent tendencies, kidnap for ransom, banditry and terrorism; economic challenges; social disarticulation; corruption and its attendant reputational deficit on the nation,” he stated.

Beyond the kinetic war front, Sirajo noted that the institute was of the strong conviction that the battle and the search for peace could be won at another front, while in no way attempting to erode the import of the efforts of the armed forces and security agencies.

To complement military efforts, the NIPR boss stated that there is now the compelling need to seek citizen-derived solutions and actions based on people-to-people approach to re-energise Nigeria’s nationhood.

“As gloomy and scary as the picture may look, we are confident that the situation is not irredeemable; but we have some choices to make. A choice between the roundtable and war front; between looking at the diversity that God Almighty has endowed this country with and seeing it as a blessing and a veritable tool for development and continuing to turn it into a curse and a cause for socio-economic and political tension.

“We have a choice between economic growth and prosperity on one hand and poverty and starvation on the other; and between resigning to a doomed fate and rising to the occasion,” he stressed.

He added that to ensure everybody was carried along, the group had enlisted the support and collaboration of professionals, civil society, youth, labour, students, sociocultural and religious organisations.

Runsewe, in his comments, stated that Nigeria can move to a greater level with the effort of every citizen, explaining that the summit was key to the next level movement of Nigeria.

He suggested a ‘street-wise’ approach to enlighten state governors who are ready and willing to support the NIPR initiative and pledged to support the committee’s work.

National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), Mr. Chris Isiguzo, in his remarks, stressed that the challenge of insecurity has become complex and had spread across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

While reiterating the need to come together, Isiguzo noted that Nigerians should not continue to repose their confidence in the hands of political actors, whom he said would continue to pursue their own agenda.

Also speaking during the inauguration, the NOA DG, Abari, noted that to make any progress, there has to be a country first, noting that he was positive that Nigeria would outlive its current challenges.

Some other members of the group include: Dr. Ike Neliaku, Chairman, Mohammed Ibrahim – Vice Chairman, Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura, Dr. Okey Ikechukwu, Brig. Gen. SK Usman, Elder Peter Dama, Akin Ricketts, Dr. Mike Omeri, Rev. Ladi Thompson, among others.