Minister of Information and Communications, Labaran Maku, on Thursday in Kaduna said the insecurity in the North had been drawing back the rest of the country.
Maku said the efforts being made by the government to develop all parts of the country would come to nothing unless peace returns to the North.
The minister stated this while speaking on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Kaduna Network station.
He said, “As the minister of information, I have continued to cry out as my duty as the spokesperson for the government that as long as the North is not at peace, Nigeria cannot develop because the North is a large part of this country. And I do know that the unity of the North is crucial to the unity of Nigeria.
“We therefore have that duty today as never before to appreciate the responsibility that God has entrusted on our shoulders as children of this region.
“I have continued to cry out that we in the North are in need of peace more than any part of the country because everywhere we are behind. We should devote adequate space in our newspapers, in all our radio station to send out messages for communal peace, for mutual relationship.”
Maku lamented that the worsening insecurity in the North had continued to drive away foreign investors from the area.
He said, “I wish to also emphasise that in recent time, and I discussed with the Minister of Trade and Investment, two weeks ago, a lot of investors that are coming to this country are finding it very difficult to come to this part of the country.
“I am particularly worried because the only way we are going to move the development of this vision forward is to create an enabling environment for investors to work in our communities with our leaders to develop the North.
“There is nothing we can do to achieve success unless we strive for peace in this region.
“Let me charge FRCN particularly because we discuss this every time in our management meeting that all our stations throughout the country, we must devote sufficient airspace to make sure that we are working on peace, we are working on programme that will enlighten our people.
“Nigeria is a great country, it is a country that all the world is looking for in Africa. By 2025, all the indices show that we are going to be the largest economy in this continent. Let us work hard for this day, let us work hard to establish our professional work in the media for the development of our country.”
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