There is beauty, strength In Nigeria’s diversities, says Shettima

Vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Kashim Shettima has said Nigeria stands to benefit enormously from its diversities if tolerance and unity are optimally held as virtues.

Shettima, who spoke at a reception in his honour by the Borno Indigenes Forum (BIFA), at Rockview Hotel (Royale), Abuja, on Sunday, said he is proud to note that the Tinubu/Shettima campaign team has refused to treat any Nigerian as an outsider because of the village in which he or she was born.

“We refuse to attack our citizens because of the architecture of their places of worship. We refuse to grade our citizens based on the prominence of their ethnic group. We refuse to make our politics a chamber for waging wars. This is the Nigeria we must work together to build,” he said.

In a very oratory speech titled; “Heroes of a Turbulent Time,” Shettima added: “If you intend to see where the truth goes to die in Nigeria, then don’t look too far away from the electronic exchanges on social media. Most of the falsehoods dispensed are, unfortunately, carefully-coordinated attacks by agents of those running for the highest office in the country.”

He lamented that today’s Nigeria places more importance on where one comes from than their potential adding that one’s origin can be the beginning of their nightmare if one find themselves in the wrong place.

“Sometimes, you are compelled to work harder than others to fit in. Other times, you are not even given the chance at all. You are either written off or treated as a wild stereotype by fellow countrymen.

“You are expected to function in a system where you must relegate your origin and identity, or apologise for the affiliations you never got to choose. None of us here got to choose where we were born and to whom. But we all have a choice to create a world where nobody ever experiences discrimination based on the languages they speak, the places they worship, and the colour of their skin,” he said.

According to the APC vice-presidential candidate, Nigeria has a glorious history that reminds citizens of the beauty of a diverse nation.

“We know the consequences of treating others as different from us or lesser than us. We know we are a collage of various ethnic, religious, and racial groups bound by a common destiny. We know that Borno remains standing amidst a wave of attacks on our lives and properties because of this refusal to let go of what defines us, that we are bound by the same humanity,” he emphasised.

He spoke passionately about Nigeria’s enduring brotherhood and sisterhood across generations and said that even a nuclear weapon cannot annihilate it.

“We have survived conspiracies designed to turn us against one another. We have witnessed the comings and goings of anarchists who wished to profit from our conflicts. We know why they have failed. They intended to distort and misinterpret our realities to suit their agenda. Our people have not surrendered to any alien idea because the subjects of the dreams we have in Konduga are the same as those in Argungu, Abuja, Abakaliki, and Aba. All of them dream to live gainfully and love indiscriminately,” he said.

On a personal note, Senator Shettima said he would have veered off to a place of hate if he had allowed the bigotries he encountered to define him, adding that even as a two-time governor and, now, a Senator, he is just as vulnerable to bigotry as every Nigerian.

He said: “As a governor, for instance, I engaged with various groups in Borno State to learn from their experiences or as a courtesy required from a leader whenever I came across them. Some of such encounters were with vigilante groups helping us in the war against Boko Haram or with Fulani herdsmen within our jurisdiction. So, whenever photos from such meetings are shared to make certain allusions, I was unsure of whether to laugh or cry for the nation. Their allusions are a product of the usual unchecked ethnic profiling, and that’s a risky political strategy for a country already too divided.

“But we can’t afford to give up. We can’t afford to take their bait. The day we embark on responding to profiling any group with similar colour of hate, we are halfway to the end of this union. This is the chaos they seek. But we are far too sophisticated to see any Nigerian as an enemy just because of their ethnicity, religion, or region. We will weaponise neither our ethnic nor regional identity to oppose any individual, whether their agenda is printed on a billboard or intended to be a secret campaign.

“The darkest irony in our politics today is the sponsorship of hate campaigns by front-line political candidates against an opposing group in the very country they are asking to govern. I expect you to be the voice of reason in teaching conflict profiteers in our midst about the enduring bond we share. We would’ve been long overrun if we had paid mind to any politician who invests in divisions, the ones who’ve seen and experienced the devastation of violence firsthand.”

He added that there’s no testimony greater than the words of objective witnesses to his part in history.

He praised those who organised the reception in his honour and said that they saw through the pedestrian mischief and lies.

“You know the churches and mosques we have rebuilt to reassure all groups in Borno State that the conflict in our place is from a common enemy. You are the heroes Nigeria seeks, the ones we all deserve to guide us to the path of peaceful coexistence, the path of alliances,” he said.

Chairman of the Borno Indigenes Forum Abuja (BIFA) was represented by Alhaji Mohammed Lamba, the Treasurer of the Forum.

Prominent Borno State indigenes who graced the event included Ibrahim Bunu, Alhaji. Musa Saleh, Alhaji. Baba Shehu Shettima, Alhaji Musa Kachalla, Alhaji Mohammed Lamba and Alhaji Kashim Imam.

Others included Hon. Babagana Modu, Mr. James Balami Shettima, Umar Abba Gana, Amb.Toko Ali Gongulong, Amb. Lawan Abba Gashigar and Engr Idi Saje.