Stop using ethnicity to cause hatred, Jarigbe tells politicians

Senator representing Cross River Northern Senatorial District, Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, has charged politicians to stop using ethnicity to boost political gains.

Jarigbe gave the charge, yesterday, as a guest speaker at the University of Calabar First Registry Day Lecture titled: “Ethnicity, Education and Politics in Nigeria.”

He argued that the politics of domination, oppression and exploitation can only promote insecurity while fairness, equity and justice would promote peace and bring about development.

He said: “As creations of man, ethnicity, education and politics can and have served useful purposes for various societies around the world. Through them, the fortunes of many individuals and societies have been reshaped irreversible.

“It has become imperative for people to stop using ethnicity to cause hatred, acrimony and suspicion to boost their political standing.

“As Nigerians, we all need to be challenged by incredible levels of social and economic development and political stability that many other nations, including those with more diverse ethnic and religious pluralism have achieved.”

Chairman on the occasion, the Chancellor of Arthur Javis University, Sir. Arthur Archibong, said: “Nigeria’s ethno-geographic diversity is often cited as a major stumbling block towards its unity and oneness of purpose. It is generally believed that a country like Nigeria is more unlikely to revolve a national consensus over a sectional interest than a homogenous country taking into cognizance the fact that the unity of purpose among constituents of a nation state is a condition precedence of political stability, economic growth and educational development.”