Peter Obi campaigns against religious, ethnic divisions among Nigerians

Peter Obi, the Labour Party flag-bearer in the 2023 presidential election, has urged Nigerians to rise above ethnic and religious divisions, stating that these factors constitute barriers that have continuously impeded the nation's unity and progress.

Obi said this in a series of tweets on his X handle while celebrating International Human Solidarity Day on Wednesday, December 20, 2023.

Highlighting the essence of the celebration, the former Anambra Governor stressed the need for Nigerians to tear down the walls of ethnic and religious divisions and instead leverage the rich cultural and ethnic identities and strengths to advance national progress.

He tweeted, “Today, we join the global community in celebrating the International Human Solidarity Day which is dedicated to strengthening our global unity in diversity, and to help in fostering international cooperation on the eradication of hunger and diseases at the global level.

“On the national level, Nigerians need to solemnly remind ourselves of the need to tear down the walls of ethnic and religious divisions that have continued to divide us and instead emphasise our unity and leverage our diverse and rich cultural and ethnic identities and strengths to advance our national progress.”

The presidential candidate noted that Nigeria has become more divided now than ever, which has made it difficult for people to work together for national development, blaming the development on "bad politics and elite insensitivity.”

“Unfortunately, we have, today as a nation, become more sharply divided than ever. Our dear nation is more polarised today than it has ever been, fueled by overwhelming tribal and religious sentiments among the people resulting in the unwillingness of Nigerians to cooperate and work together towards achieving national growth and development. This is clearly the result of bad politics and elite insensitivity.

“I, therefore, wish to use this occasion to remind Nigerians that the problems of hunger, poverty, and inequality are not specific to a particular ethnicity or religion, but cut across the nation. Thus, the task ahead of us, as political leaders and as citizens, is to continue to beat the drums of unity, social justice, and social equality to form one united front that will stand in solidarity against the many challenges that confront our nation,” Obi wrote.