Nigeria warns separatists against 'Rwandan experience'

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria's 36 state governors have appealed to the country's separatists to embrace peace, warning against the Rwandan or Somali experience.

"It has been unanimously agreed that the unity of this country is sacrosanct, it is non-negotiable and we have all agreed to work together to educate people," Abiola Ajimobi, governor of southwestern Oyo state, told reporters in the capital Abuja early Thursday, shortly after a meeting with acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

The meeting, attended by governors across the country, centered around rising ethnic tensions.

Nigeria has seen agitation by the Igbo ethnic group for a separate country, with secessionist calls in Biafra -- scene of a 1967-1970 civil war -- and northern Nigeria.

"If we fight, everybody will lose. Have you ever seen a country that fought a civil war and remained the same? We don’t want to be another Rwanda and Somalia and all these places," Ajimobi added.

Ajimobi said the meeting resolved to address the question of poverty and social exclusion which many say are at the root of the agitation.

However, on Wednesday night, the acting president said the unity of the country was not open to debate and warned separatists to back down.

Osinbajo said the government would crack down on what he described as hate speech and anyone inciting ethnic hatred, saying Nigerians could live in any part of the country without harassment.

Preceded by meetings with top traditional and religious leaders from Nigeria’s northern and southern regions, the overnight talks brought to a close consultations held by the acting president since tensions peaked two weeks ago.

Osinbajo urged the governors to calm frayed nerves in their states; nevertheless, many separatists appear unmoved by the Nigerian leadership.

Earlier this week, northern youths urged Osinbajo to call a referendum for the Igbo to decide on their future with Nigeria.

Igbo's secessionist Indigenous People of Biafra movement brushed aside the threat of government clampdown on Tuesday, insisting agitation would continue until Biafra becomes a country.