www.vanguardngr.com/2014/12/northern-southern-citizen-nigeria-says-jonathan/

Abuja – President Goodluck Jonathan, on

Thursday urged Nigerians not to see

themselves as “Northern“ or “Southern“

citizens, but as people and a race bound by

the same history and constitution.

Jonathan gave the advice in Abuja at the

annual National Migration Dialogue,

organised by the National Commission for

Refugees, Migrants and internally Displaced

Persons.

Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who

represented the President, called for an end

to the classification of Nigerians as

“indigenes“ or “non-indigenes“ of any

particular state.

“We must insist that in relating among

ourselves as a nation, there are no Northern

or Southern citizens neither are there

citizens of any particular state in the East or

in the West.

“We are citizens of Nigeria, a people and a

race bound by the same history and

constitution.

“We must continue to insist and uphold our

constitution that guarantees the right of all

Nigerians to live anywhere in Nigeria

without any fear of economic, political,

religious, or social exclusion.

“Our ethnic diversity, ideally, should be a

source of strength, not weakness; a country

where people freely profess and practice

their respective religious beliefs anywhere

within our national boundaries, without any

fear of discrimination.

“The future I see is of a nation where

people are no longer identified by their

ethnic or religious affiliation but by the

very virtue of their Citizenship as

Nigerians,“ he said

According to him, the Nigerian Constitution

and the recommendations of the recently

concluded National Conference guarantee

the right of every Nigerian to reside

anywhere in the country without

discrimination.

While acknowledging the role migration

plays in national development, the President

noted that the country has the highest

volume of international migrants, and the

largest remittances in sub-Saharan Africa

worth 20.76 billion dollars in 2013.

He, therefore, stressed that Nigeria, while

aiming to mitigate the negative impact of

migration, would continually to deploy

strategies to encourage Nigerians in the

Diaspora to invest remittances in social

infrastructure, human capital development

and other activities.

He stated that his administration had made

it a cardinal principle that Nigerians must be

treated humanely and with dignify in any

country of their residence.

On internally displaced persons, the

President said he had directed that victims

must be given due care and maintenance

without any form of social exclusion.

Jonathan expressed the hope that the

national migration dialogue would help

shape Nigeria’s national migratory

orientation.

In her remarks, the Federal Commissioner

for Refugees, Hajiya Hadiza Kangiwa, noted

that Nigeria was the first country in ECOWAS

sub-region to institute the dialogue.

She said the dialogue was conceived as a

strategy for mainstreaming migration into

the post development agenda, and was also

a derivation of the draft National Migration

Policy document.

According to her, the objective of the

dialogue is to provide a platform for

debating the impact and linkages between

migration and development thereby

shaping Nigeria’s national migratory

linkages.

She said the dialogue would also provide

opportunity for reviewing the various

operational challenges at the

implementation level.

The participants at the dialogue were drawn

from the 36 States of the federation.

It also has the participation of international

development partners such as the

International Organisation for Migration.

(NAN)

Self delusion!!

Like say we be one country.

The world sees us and addresses us as Nigerians,they don't call us hausa northerner or yoruba from where ever truth be told we are nigerians.

gej trying to play soft b/c he knows is losing alredy

i begged you GEJ over the years on this issue,i advised you but you refused,you allowed Edwin Clark to deceive you,allowing small boys treating the nation,i reminded you that 4 million ijaws and the hole south south cant make a president,you refuse to listen to me.
Now you have only the support of 3/4 of the ijaw people,you have lost all other tribes in the south south,you have lost four other regions.
it is unfortunate that when we finally Got some one from the south south this is how he performed too bad
\

SAI BUHARI

I am Yoruba first , I am Yoruba second and I am Yoruba third.
Nigerians do not exist.
As far as I can see ,the only Nigerians are the ones feeding fat and feasting on the corpse of the people of that geographical expression.
There is nothing special with the way the ethnic groups relate with one another.
They relate with eachother the same person ways African relate with one another.
That is until they have a reason to kill the other tribe.
Even European union is reaching breaking point under the smaller pressure of the same factors.
We are talking about an educated and rich Union on full bellies here.
Ka bosi bosi a place of illiterate and half literate tribesmen trying to fight nature.
I am a citizen of the Yoruba nation. 50 million strong.
That Northern / southerner thing is a fourth base

musiwa97:

I can only imagine how bad your condition has gotten.

Good one from GEJ. He's already preparing his handover speech

oduastates:
I am Yoruba first , I am Yoruba second and I am Yoruba third.
Nigerians do not exist.
As far as I can see ,the only Nigerians are the ones feeding fat and feasting on the corpse of the people of that geographical expression.
There is nothing special with the way the ethnic groups relate with one another.
They relate with eachother the same person ways African relate with one another.
That is until they have a reason to kill the other tribe.
Even European union is reaching breaking point under the smaller pressure of the same factors.
We are talking about an educated and rich Union on full bellies here.
Ka bosi bosi a place of illiterate and half literate tribesmen trying to fight nature.
I am a citizen of the Yoruba nation. 50 million strong.
That Northern / southerner thing is a fourth base

what do yu mean by odua state or yoruba first,
re yu guys agitating for odua state,cos yu guys seem to be comfortable with nigeria as a country,cos our oil money...
so dont tell me nigeria does not exist in ur comment...

onoja12:
i begged you GEJ over the years on this issue,i advised you but you refused,you allowed Edwin Clark to deceive you,allowing small boys treating the nation,i reminded you that 4 million ijaws and the hole south south cant make a president,you refuse to listen to me.
Now you have only the support of 3/4 of the ijaw people,you have lost all other tribes in the south south,you have lost four other regions.
it is unfortunate that when we finally Got some one from the south south this is how he performed too bad
\

SAI BUHARI

Abeg no mind am, after he had further divide Nigerians based on ethno-religious lines; its now that he wants unity; well its too late for him - let him start packing now, he'll be lucky if they allow him back to Otuoke because Kirikiri is probably what he deserves.

Meanwhile, I do hope Nigerians will find a way to heal and set aside their differences under a new less divisive humane leadership so that we can collectively all move forward.

onoja12:
i begged you GEJ over the years on this issue,i advised you but you refused,you allowed Edwin Clark to deceive you,allowing small boys treating the nation,i reminded you that 4 million ijaws and the hole south south cant make a president,you refuse to listen to me.
Now you have only the support of 3/4 of the ijaw people,you have lost all other tribes in the south south,you have lost four other regions.
it is unfortunate that when we finally Got some one from the south south this is how he performed too bad
\

SAI BUHARI

by the time Gej trashed ur old baba 70's by overwhelming gap then I would like to see the kind look u will wear on ur ugly face

everybody knows that GEJ cant win that election,even if he rigs it,it would be difficult to explain to the people

manmade:
by the time Gej trashed ur old baba 70's by overwhelming gap then I would like to see the kind look u will wear on ur ugly face

Nigeria would heal,does promoting the divide have stolen and looted all they can,so once there main man is gone it would take long for nigeria to heal

ItsMeAboki:


Abeg no mind am, after he had further divide Nigerians based on ethno-religious lines; its now that he wants unity; well its too late for him - let him start packing now, he'll be lucky if they allow him back to Otuoke because Kirikiri is probably what he deserves.

Meanwhile, I do hope Nigerians will find a way to heal and set aside their differences under a new less divisive humane leadership so that we can collectively all move forward.

GEJ and buhari saying the same thing just to win elections