Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has asked political and religious leaders to restrain from divisive comments.
Mohammed also called on citizens to resist any calculated attempt to cause division and instability in the country.
He disclosed this while speaking on a radio programme monitored by NAN.
The minister said the country’s security challenges are surmountable, urging the citizens to refrain from statements and rhetorics that could exacerbate the situation.
He said, “We are calling on all Nigerians to resist any agenda by anybody to threaten the unity and peaceful coexistence in the country.”
“We have always lived together peacefully for long as Hausas, Yorubas, Ibos, Fulanis and so on, and we have always resolved our differences amicably.
“l want to urge our political and religious leaders particularly to be careful about what they say.
“We should be doing things that could help address the security challenges that we have, not making statements capable of worsening the situation.”
Mohammed advised against portraying the herders-farmers clashes in parts of the country as an attempt by one ethnic group to subjugate the other.
He said there is a need for communities to go back to the old ways of settling disputes between herders and farmers for peace to reign.
According to the minister, the federal government is committed to the protection of all citizens and will not side with any particular people against the other.
Speaking on banditry and insurgency, Mohammed said the government was doing its best to address the problems.
He further said security agencies had recorded remarkable successes against bandits and terrorists and called on Nigerians to support them to do more.