Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike on Friday said the country had not witnessed the level of ethnic and religious divide currently rocking the entire nation.
The governor stated this when he played host to the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, who was on a courtesy visit to him at Government House, Port Harcourt.
Wike told the Emir of Kano how his late father and other leaders in their time worked so hard in promoting love, peace and national unity among Nigerians.
He lamented that the current political and religious leaders are not building on those successes.
According to him, the leaders are rather reducing every relationship, appointment, policy and programme of the government to political and religious considerations.
Governor Wike insisted that Nigeria belong to everybody and no one section can assert itself over the other. He said that is why he had provided a conducive environment for all ethnic groups in Rivers State to coexist.
It is important that where we are now, everybody, particularly traditional rulers, should know that they have a major role to play in ensuring that peace reigns in this country.
“This is the first time in Nigeria when we have so much ethnic divide, so much religious divide. It has never happened like this before. After the civil war, people had seen Nigeria as one country. We have seen ourselves as the same people but what we are facing today is a different thing.
We are not even talking about the issue of insecurity, but the issue of ethnicity, and religion which have taken centre stage in our life which is not supposed to be.”
The governor accused heads of security agencies, particularly the Inspector General of Police of politicising security by posting Commissioners of Police to the State on the order of a politician in the ruling party.
