Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, says Federal Government has opened the channel of communication with the international community, including the United States of America, over the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
The Minister, who addressed State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu, said the present administration did not want to escalate the rhetoric.
He said, “The responsibility that we have as a government is to ensure that whatever genuine concerns that there are to keep our citizens safe, the Nigerian government will continue to do that.
“But there is not any panic mode. We are responding responsibly, steadily, and in the interest of our country also taking into account the concerns both from within and outside this country of what the situation is. But let me say for the umpteenth time, Nigeria is a country that has tolerance for religion.”
Idris explained that government was responding to some of these issues in a manner that will reflect “who we are as a country”, maintaining our respect and dignity as a country, and also, “welcoming the partnership that we so dearly need from everyone, the International community from within, to tackle this issue.
“We have porous borders and that is why we have cooperation with our regional partners. We also have cooperation with international partners, including the United States and Nigeria will continue to engage. Now, have we had any discussions with the government of the United States? Yes. Channels have been opened. We prefer that this situation is being solved diplomatically.”
Idris admitted that the designation of Nigeria as the country of particular concern came up during deliberations at the Federal Executive Council meeting, ”but the most important thing that I want to say is that the government of Nigeria is responding to the genuine concerns raised.
“The politics of it, aside, we genuinely are taking the issues seriously, but let me also say that government, even before these events of the last few days, has been extremely committed to ensuring that Nigeria is indeed safe for everyone.
“The killing of even one Nigerian citizen is of concern to the government of Nigeria, and of course, because our constitution, and we keep mentioning this, guarantees the right of everyone to worship his or her religion without hindrance. The government of Nigeria is committed to that, will continue to do that, and wherever there is any violence affecting any citizen in this country, the government of Nigeria has indeed the responsibility to ensure that is being tackled.
“Now, as to whether that affects the way government is being run, let me say that the government of Nigeria is really very stable. The president is calm, like we have said. He is calm. The Federal executive council members are indeed very calm.
“Are there issues of security in the country? Yes, there are. Are people being killed in parts of this country? Yes. But is there anything government is doing to also checkmate that? Yes, indeed there are. Is government also responding to this? Yes, it is. But this is being done with the greatest sense of responsibility while maintaining the balance that we require to face these issues head on.”
