Nigeria’s unity not negotiable –IBB

Former Military President, Gen­eral Ibrahim Babangida, has said that the unity of Ni­geria is not negotiable and must be guarded jealously, with the me­dia having a crucial role to play.

Babangida, who was represented by former military governor of La­gos State, General Raji Ra­saki (retd) made this statement yesterday, at the annual The Sun Awards, held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.

Babangida, in his address sent to the event, expressed his appreciation to the man­agement of The Sun Publish­ing Limited for the gesture accorded him, emphasizing that he, his children, grand­children and great grandchil­dren would always cherish the award deeply.

“Why? Because it is com­ing from the media, the only institution which I have tried to dominate, but rather un­successfully. In fact, I must today confess that the media have thoroughly dominated me, and rendered me helpless in so many ways. I must say I feel humbled and pleas­antly surprised at the recog­nition as The Sun Lifetime Achiever’s recipient.”

Babangida said the de­velopment and achieve­ments of The Sun Publish­ing Limited were inspiring and should motivate everyone, going by the huge success the company had recorded over the years, due to its unbiased editorial policy.

He added: “While I do appreciate the contribution of the media to the suste­nance of our democracy, I need to sound a note of cau­tion. The unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable and must be guarded jealously. The me­dia have a greater role to play in shaping public discourse, gauging the pulse of the na­tion and promoting news items that will unite us the more, than divide us.”

He concluded that he be­lieved in Nigeria and in the ability of the country to at­tain its Olympian height in the comity of nations.