Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has ruled out the possibility of the return of military rule in Nigeria, saying the nation’s unity is worth preserving and protecting.

He spoke on Friday at the graduation of the 2017 Class of Senior Course 39 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State.

Osinbajo, in his speech titled ‘We Can Build a New Nigeria’, charged the military to devote their resources and talent to new battlefields “where mindless verdicts on the continued unity and existence of Nigeria are daily being delivered.”

“Even though the days of military rule are now well behind us as a nation, the role of the military is still as critical as ever, and not just in the traditional areas of deterring threats and protecting lives and property. The military of the 21st century must realise that it has a role to play in supplying reinforcement to the good side in the clash of ideas that today define the world: ideas of moderation, tolerance and sensibleness versus ideas of extremism, xenophobia, and terror.

“The Boko Haram terrorism as a perfect example of the types of scourges facing the world. The battle is not just to defeat the terrorists, the greater battle is to defeat the ideology and mindset that feeds the madness and to cut off its oxygen, money and publicity,” he said.

Osinbajo stressed that the nation's unity was worth preserving and protecting, saying: “We are the preeminent power in Africa today in terms of population, size of our markets, natural resources and economy. We are a factor in the geopolitics of the world, no one can ignore a nation-state that is home to one in every four black persons. Smaller is weaker not stronger today.”

He blamed the elite for what he called hate-filled agitations being witnessed in the polity, emphasizing: “This is essentially an elite phenomenon, unity and disunity are promoted by the elite which the vast majority of the Nigerian people are only later conscripted.

“One of those lessons is that today’s wars never really end. This should be a sobering lesson to us all in Nigeria, as we contend with the forces who seek to stoke violence and bloodshed in our country.”

Osinbajo said the great challenge and the wonderful opportunity for the present generation of the Nigerian elite was to build a new Nigeria. “Out of the rubble of cynicism, division and suspicions, we can build a new nation,” he said.

The Commandant of the College, Air Vice Marshall S. A. Dambo, said 187 persons graduated, comprising officers from the nation's Armed Forces, paramilitary and Ministry of Foreign Affairs including 10 international officers from eight countries, namely Liberia, Togo, Ghana, Cameroun, Niger, Mali, Rwanda and Gambia. (Daily Trust)

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