'We must resist any attempt to destroy Nigeria's unity' - Osinbajo

Amid a recurring farmers-herders crisis in the south of Nigeria and the ethnic tension it continuously stirs, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has called on Nigerians to defend the state of the union with all they've got.
"We must resist any attempt to destroy the unity of this country. Our people have lived and worked together for decades, even centuries," Osinbajo said in Ikenne, Ogun State, on Tuesday, February 9, 2021, while participating in an ongoing APC membership and revalidation exercise.

"While we must attend to the cries of communities, and the cries of our people for justice, equity and fairness, we can do so within this same union. Ultimately we are stronger together than apart,” he added.

The vice president said despite the security challenges bedevilling the nation, the values of justice, equity and fairness across communities nationwide can be addressed within the Nigerian union.

He also said the Buhari administration is placing greater emphasis on technology for surveillance, intelligence gathering and attack.
He explained that with the appointment of new security chiefs, the nation’s security approach has a “fresh set of eyes, intellect and skills and a fresh look at strategies against the insurgency in the northeast, as well as banditry and kidnapping elsewhere.

"We must speed up and strengthen the community policing structures, states must continually train, educate and formalize their local security structures so that they complement the federal law enforcement agencies.

"Policing must be a collective effort, from the local government to the state government, and all the way up to the federal government.

“We must ensure the prosecution of all those who have been arrested for kidnapping, banditry. There must be evidence that justice is being done. This is achievable by stronger collaboration between the police, states ministries of justice and the federal ministry of justice.
“We are in government at one of the most challenging times in history. The pandemic has not helped matters, and we also have had security challenges that have stretched our law enforcement capacities all over the country. But we remain the best party to solve these problems,” he said.

On the APC revalidation exercise, the vice president said it is important for the governing party to have a credible roll call of members and to reach more Nigerians, especially at the grassroots.