By Sadiq Abubakar
Maiduguri
Governor of Yobe state, Ibrahim Gaidam, has assured Igbo indigenes resident in the state of security of lives and property.
A statement by the Director of Press Affairs to the Governor, Abdullahi Bego, said the assurance followed recent threat by some Northern youths who gave a three-month ultimatum to all Igbo residents in the region.
Gaidam described the threat as “unfortunate, unlawful, and unwarranted.”
He said: “Like other Nigerians, the Igbo have a right that is fully guaranteed by our constitution to live in any part of the country of their choice.
“As a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural society, part of our nation’s strength lies in the diversity of its people. It is what has moved every successful nation forward. In Yobe state, the Igbo, like the people of other ethnicities, have lived and engaged peacefully with their neighbours.
“The Yobe state government, therefore, assures them that it will not allow anyone to intimidate or threaten them and will use the full resources of law enforcement to see to that.”
Continuing, he said: “His Excellency, Governor Gaidam, strongly believes in a Nigeria in which all its people live peacefully with one another, a country where political disagreements are settled not through threats and violent conduct but through dialogue and give-and-take.
“His Excellency, the governor reminds youths in the North and in every part of the country that as tomorrow’s leaders, they have a responsibility and a stake to contribute to the peace and stability of the nation.”
The governor also believed that political and community leaders in every part of the country had a responsibility, as well, to guide the youth to responsible conduct and to speak against violence or tendency to violence.
“It is through peace and unity, and not division and disunity, that our dream of a better, more prosperous Nigeria will come true.”
