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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has advised Nigerians not to allow disunity along ethnic and religious lines to undermine the country’s achievements and potential for future greatness.
He made the assertion at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Military Training Centre in Kaduna, during the passing out parade and commissioning of 187 Direct Short Service Course 2018/2019 cadets.
Osinbajo restated that the armed forces effectively contained the territorial ambitions of Boko Haram terrorists by substantially degrading their capacity to attack and wreak havoc, stressing that what remained of the group was their resolve to shed blood and sow fear among Nigerians.
He stressed that Boko Haram was not the only threat to Nigeria, as there were constant clashes between farmers and pastoralists, just as there were kidnappings, armed banditry and militancy.
The Vice President also noted that Nigeria’s potential in technology and entertainment has been attracting global attention, adding that only disunity could undermine the country’s progress now and in the future.
“At 174 million GSM telephones, Nigeria is among the top 10 telephone users in the world, and we have the highest percentage of people who use the Internet on their phones globally. We are also number two in mobile Internet banking in the world, while 17 million Nigerians are on Facebook.
“Microsoft has announced that it will establish a $100 million African Development Centre in Nigeria. We are already building our own drones. But not only are we building drones, but we are also making spare parts for our aircraft.
“We are also manufacturing armoured personnel carriers and all sorts of different military platforms. Nigerians are doing all these things in this country.
“Just last week, we saw, at the Army Day, sophisticated mine sweepers manufactured in this country and within a short time, Nigeria will be, by far, the greatest military force in Africa and certainly the most developed economy in Africa,” he stated.
He added that these achievements were built on the sacrifices of many in blood and sweat, especially men and women of the armed forces, stressing: “What will undermine our efforts now and in the future is disunity, especially by those preaching divisions along ethnic and religious lines.
“We must resist all who try to destroy our present gains and in particular, our future. Nigeria’s future is bright, all we need is to keep focus not to allow anyone preaches division among us. If we remain stable and united, everything we desire for our great country will be ours.”
