Chief Humphrey Okolie, the President General, Anambra State Indigenes Welfare Association, Kaduna Branch, has urged the Federal Government to strengthen unity schools in the country.
He said that doing so would enable the schools to serve as the binding force they were meant to be.
Okolie, who was speaking against the backdrop of the current state of the country, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that strengthening the schools would help children with different ethnic, religious and regional backgrounds to mix and appreciate one another.
“The Unity Schools policy was very important and necessary.
“I will appeal to the government to look into it and repair the dilapidated schools. Let them rebuild them so that they can maintain the purpose for which they were created because it would help us.
“Our children will mix; if you tell somebody who was born in Kaduna, schooled here and has never travelled out of Abuja to Okene anything about the South East, he or she will never believe you.
“But if he has travelled far and wide, he will know it when he is told lies about other people.
“If you see the way Northerners who have served in the South East behaves and hears the way they talk you will know that they are different from those that have not travelled out of the North before.
“Same thing with us; the way those of us that are here in the North behave is quite different; even the way we talk is quite different from that of the people down there in the South East.
“Any time those of us residing in the North hear our brothers in the South East calling Northerners names, we will always tell them no! They are not like that.’’
NAN reports that from the 1960s to the 1970s, the Federal Government established Unity Schools with the primary aim of integrating and grooming leaders, for the future of both the public and private sectors of the country.
Such leaders were expected to bear the responsibility and build the mindset of fostering national unity.
According to Okolie, the number one thing that the Federal Government initiated to unite Nigerians was the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
He said that the scheme enabled young Nigerians across the country to mix and interact.
The number one thing the government introduced that was uniting us was the National Youth Service Corps.
“It was very important and necessary; and we should keep it up because that is one of the strongest cords that bind us.
“When somebody from Sokoto can be posted in Enugu, somebody in Enugu can be posted in Maiduguri, somebody in Lagos can be posted in Port Harcourt or Jigawa or Sokoto state.
“Now they go there, mix, and interact with others.
“And I remember, initially when NYSC was introduced they said if you married a native of a place where you were serving, you were given bonus.
“Let’s say somebody from Anambra state comes to Kaduna state to serve and marries an indigene of Kaduna state they used to give them bonus because they wanted to encourage intermarriage to unite people.
“So I think it was a uniting factor.’’
Okolie blamed the social media for instigating negative trends citing the emergence and escalation of hate speech across the country.
“One of the problems we have today is the social media. They create pictures, fabricate one fake story and post a lot of bad messages on their websites.
“We need to come together and tell people that all the stuff they read on social media is false. That will help us a lot.’’
The Igbo chieftain, however, advised youths to live productive lives and improve their living standard.
He also advised them not to allow themselves to be used as agents of discord.
“The advice I will give to the younger generation is for them to make sure they are engaged in doing something especially the enlightened ones.
“For instance the ultimatum from Arewa youths, they are enlightened, they are educated people and such things shouldn’t have come from them.
“Rather, they should let those who don’t know anything to know the way they are supposed to behave and that is why I am so happy with President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement about hate speech.
“So at times when people hear hate speeches directed at them, they should not retaliate; they should rather create a forum where things can be discussed and problems solved amicably.’’
Okolie then urged government at all levels to sensitise Nigerian youth to the need to work closely together regardless of their tribe, religion and region.
He also urged the youths to always put the country’s interest first in all that they do to ensure its growth and development.
He said: “Let them know that we are all Nigerians and that we must remain one Nigeria forever.
“It is not everybody that supports the disintegration of this country; we do not support it.
“Yes we support the restructuring of Nigeria; let there be restructuring so that even admission into the country’s tertiary institutions can be fair and just to reflect federal character.’’ (NAN)
