AdminThe Presidency has reinterated the need for Nigerians to consciously embark on activities aimed at promoting oneness and unity of the country.
Spokesman of the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, made the call on Friday in his office in Abuja, when he received in audience, the Black Apple Media Group, a production outfit devoted to making movies and documentaries for the promotion of unity and peaceful coexistence in Nigeria.
Adesina said the initiative is one that every patriotic Nigerian should be happy to hear about and support.
“Anything that will promote our nationhood, that will promote our unity, is something that we should all support and encourage,” he said.
According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari had always been committed to the unity of the country
He cited the sacrifices the president made during the civil war to ensure the country remained united, adding that with such disposition, he would not fold his arms and allow any group disintegrate the country.
The spokesperson said while some of the patriots are still alive, those who fought the civil war, wouldn’t sit back idle and watch the country disintegrate. “Our anthem says the labour of our heroes past can never be in vain. Those were the ones who have fought to keep Nigeria together.”
He reminisced that during his school days, there was no division.
“When we were in school, it used to be Ife – Modakeke Students Union. They merged together, they had one group together, there was no difference, so when that war came, it was strange to us.
“We used to be one, that is how Nigeria was originally, and we didn’t know any difference. You are from here, you are from there, we were all together, all the ethnic groups in the country, there was no difference. To now see some things happening is confounding to us.
“That is why we must commend an initiative like this, anything that will promote unity, that will promote togetherness, that will show the evil of Fake News, Hate Speech is something that will be supported, so I want to assure you that as the Media Office of the President, we will support this initiative.
“All those who are trying to cause commotion, cause disunity, cause dismemberment, I think they just struggle in vain, it will not happen. Nigeria will be together. I want to thank you for coming and for this initiative and you can count on us for support,” he added.
The leader of the group, Mr Andy Chukwu, said his team came up with the idea of the movie project – The Hero, to “tackle the impact of fake news on social media. The movie deals with unity, peaceful co-existence and promotes inter-ethnic marriages. Considering the situations we are now, we can’t need it at any better time than now.”
He hoped that the movie, targeted at people from all walks of life, from the youth, the market women, the captains of industry, will “educate the people on the need for us to stay in peace, on the need for us to stay united, for us to encourage peaceful co-existence. Because there is absolutely nothing that will stop the Easterners from living in the West, or the Northerners from living in the East.”
He expressed the group’s desire to have the movie translated to major languages of Nigeria for a deeper penetration.
Other members of the group were Lisa Onu, David Fiase, Tony Ezimadu, and Nazareth Jesse.
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