The new Chief of Staff (COS) to President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, has been called upon to resist the temptation of placing tribal and religious sentiments over national interest.
The Human Rights, Liberty Access and Peace Defenders’ Foundation (HURIDE), which said this in a statement issued in FCT Abuja, but made available to newsmen in Onitsha, reminded Gambari that as a diplomat and scholar of international repute, he should leave a legacy in his new office
In the statement signed by the chairman of HURIDE, Dede Uzor A Uzor, the rights group advised him to balance his loyalty to his boss and his commitment to the unity of Nigeria
The group while expressing fear over reports especially from the South West media indicating that he might be a more rabid Northerner than his predecessor, the late Abba Kyari, urged Gambari to shame his critics through a sterling performance that will unite the divided nation.
“He should shun all the things he has been accused of. There is still insecurity in the country in Katsina, Plateau, Delta, Kaduna, Zamfara and other states of the federation.
“Nigerians in their various communities are still living in fear as a result of Fulani Herdsmen comfortably bearing AK-47, which they now use to kill, kidnap, rob, maim and rape men and women. He should use his position to ensure that Fulani Herdsmen, bandits and other criminal organizations are flushed out,” HURIDE said.
Alleging that there are strong insinuations that this lawlessness by Herdsmen and bandits was sponsored by the State, the group said Gambari can advise the President to end the killings and save the nation from further bloodshed.
“The country is now divided between North and South, Moslem and Christians. He should strive to work hard to bridge the gap and build one united Nigeria. He should ensure that henceforth appointments reflect the Federal principle character, geographical spread, an ethnic and religious configuration of the country inline with our extant laws and regulations.
“Gambari should advise the President to bring to an end, the marginalisation of Ndigbo. The zone is not represented in security and other key appointments in the country including the spread of infrastructural development hence no single federal government industry is sited in the whole South East. Gambari must live up to expectation in these light,” Uzor emphasized.
