BENIN — SECOND Republic President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, revisited, weekend, the recurring unrest in the Niger Delta, and declared that such unrest was hindering even the development of the region.
Speaking on the occasion of the second convocation of Igbinedon University where he was honoured with the doctorate degree in political science (D.Sc). Alhaji Shagari acknowledged the neglect of the area by succeeding governments but said violence was no solution to the problem.
His words: "We as a nation went through crises and tragedies, because of the seceding attempt of a unit of our country. Now the tragedies of arm robbery and other damnable social ills that we should not be proud of all eat deep into the fabric of our existence as an unhealthy society with tragic values because they deplete even our meagre resources that we would have used in massive construction and servicing of our nation. Every facet of our existence remains challenging in order to improve the quality of life. I cannot emphasis enough in expressing the need for peace.
"The world honoured us as a nation for our role in fighting apartheid, racism and independence We as a nation achieved these objectives without violence. We will continue to fight hypocrisy, injustice and fight for our human dignity not with violence but negotiations. Peace and justice cannot be achieved by violence. I want to remind the youths in the nation especially in the Niger Delta that you may claim to seek justice for many years, I know your area has been neglected for years. The source of our nation’s materials wealth has been neglected, no doubt about that, but remember that violence destroys the work and hope of justice. Peace and justice cannot be achieved by violence.
"Only two years ago, the world witnessed the tragedy of September 11. It was a tragedy and horror that I never imagined would occur in our age .I felt even more pained when some claimed by reporting to justify these on the teachings of their religion. This was a terrible and false claim. Islam abhors violence. There is no where in the Holy Koran that justifies violence. I want to repeatedly appeal to follow Nigerians from all parts of the country, that violence is not a solution for achieving justice from the government. Since the youths have been fighting in the Niger Delta, have their problems been solved? The tragedy in Plateau against Muslims and the retaliatory action in Kano and other places was an embarrassment to Nigerians. Ask yourself, has this violence achieved any justice?
"What caused the civil war was that people who are supposed to guide the people misled them. Instead of finding a peaceful way of settling the crisis, they resorted to war. When I think of hundreds of thousands of victims of death tragedies that could have been averted by peaceful discussion I weep.,’ he said.
