The Presidency has warned prominent Nigerians, particularly former leaders, against making statements capable of destabilising the country.
The call was in an obvious veiled reaction to last week call by former Chief of Army Staff, Theophilus Danjuma, on Nigerians to rise up and defend themselves.
Danjuma who spoke on Saturday at the 10th anniversary of Taraba State University, Jalingo, against the spate of killings in some parts of the country declared that the Nigerian security forces had been compromised and hence could not be relied upon for safety.
The call has since sparked off the fire of controversy with different opinions expressed by Nigerians.
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But in a statement issued on Saturday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the Presidency said prominent Nigerians should use the various available fora to advise the government appropriately without causing disaffection.
“We advise former leaders to take advantage of the various fora where people with a history of national security can offer advice to the government without resorting to the exploitation of emotional sentiments.
“The civil war motto: ‘To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done,’ rings very timely at this time in our nation’s history.
“We must be careful to avoid the mess that destroyed other African countries like Somalia,” the Presidency said.
It commended the Nigerian military’s efforts to maintain peace and stability, “despite being pulled in various directions by elements determined to destabilise the country and government for their selfish reasons.”
The Presidency wondered how any country could survive if its citizens rose against its organised, trained and equipped military.
