Acting President Yemi Osinbajo met with governors Wednesday in Aso Rock as part of peace talks to resolve the spectre of hate speeches and divisive tendencies haunting the nation and he got a firm resolution from the governors to fight for the unity of Nigeria.

The governors assured Osinbajo that they would not allow rascality of a few in any form in their various states to triumph over the collective resolve of majority of Nigerians to live in peace as one.

During the meeting , Osinbajo stoutly condemned the deployment of vile and unacceptable language by agitators in the exercise of their constitutional right to free speech.

“What we have been seeing in recent times, and this is what has brought a lot of the concern, is that some of the language and expressions that have been used have tended to degenerate very badly and we must begin to speak up against some of these things and ensure that we protect our democracy and nation from the kinds of rhetoric that may not just divide us but ultimately result in a great deal of trouble.

“I think that from all of the consultations we’ve had, all agree on certain principles; the first is that we’re all agreed that Nigeria’s unity should never be taken for granted, and that no one wants to see Nigeria going down the path of bloodshed. There is clarity as to that from all the conversations and consultations we’ve had with all of the leaders.  We also agreed on the primacy of the Nigerian Constitution, that this is the ultimate basis for our unity. The 1999 Constitution is the basis upon which we were elected into office and the basis for the legal contract which exist between all of us as citizens of this country not only amongst ourselves but also with our nation.

“The Constitution guarantees the equality of all Nigerians before the law, and their freedom to live and work anywhere in the country, in peace and safety, without fear of discrimination or prejudice. That is a guarantee of our Constitution and that is the reason why the Federal and State Governments must be committed to ensuring that every Nigerian citizen lives and works wherever he pleases peacefully and securely.

“It is the commitment by Federal Government being in charge of law enforcement agencies, not to tolerate a situation where there is any attempt to dislodge any Nigerian in any way or even intimidate any Nigerian.

“The second is that Nigeria and our constitution clearly states that the country with the Federal Government and 36 States is sovereign and indissoluble under the Constitution. In other words, it is one united country. That is also an important and fundamental basis upon which we operate as Nigerians. Our Constitution states that our nation is one undivided and sovereign.

“These fundamental principles are agreed by all of those we consulted and I think it is important because they may sound banal and ordinary but it’s important that we remind ourselves and we did remind ourselves in all of the consultations, all of the leadership we spoke to were quite united in all these principles.

We also agreed that prevention is better than cure; that it is ultimately easier to confront our grievances head on – however uncomfortable they might seem – and find lasting and acceptable solutions, rather than ignore those controversies and issues.

We agreed that it is important that whatever grievances and issue, we place them in the forefront and we discuss and debate them and do so in a manner that is not hateful or divisive in any way. This is one of the issues that emerged from our meetings. The meetings were frank as I expect our meeting today to be frank”.

The governors heeded the invitation of the Acting President to be frank and they showed it in their condemnation of hate speeches.                                                    .