Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi has charged security agencies in the country to shun any move to drag them into partisan politics.
Amaechi said this at the launch of the emblem of 2014 Armed Forces Remembrance Day in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
According to him, it would not be healthy for the armed forces to be enmeshed in the politics of the country, stressing that they should see themselves as the symbol of national unity.
“The greatest source of unity in a country is the military and you have suffered enough to fight for the unity of this country.
“I will say to you, the Nigerian military; don’t be involved in Nigerian politics. Nigeria is too complicated for the military to be involved in politics.
“In Nigeria, we have many tribes. I tell people, I’m not Ijaw, I’m Ikwerre. There are people who are Ijaw, there are Hausas, there are Yorubas, there are Isokos, there are Fulanis.
“We are too many. If the military gets involved in Nigerian politics, the consequences will be too much. Currently, we thank all of you for remaining neutral and God will bless you for that.
“In the same manner, we will enjoin the Nigerian Police Force to remain neutral because the consequences of taking sides will be too grievous. 2015 is a watershed for the country. All of us seated here must contribute to peace in Nigeria,” Amaechi said.
He acknowledged the military’s contributions to unity and nation building and urged them not to allow such contributions collapse in the current political debate.
“I will say to you, today, that all of you, both serving and retired, in one way or another, contributed to the unity of Nigeria and that you cannot afford to allow that unity to be lost.
“I have a very faint idea of what the civil war looked like because I was born in 1965. My children do not have any idea whatsoever of what the civil war looked like and I don’t want them to have any idea at all and God will not allow us to get involved in such situation where they will have ideas.
“For me, I will join you to preach peace. You will see us fighting politically. The reason why we are fighting politically is because Nigeria is too big and too rich to remain the way we are,” Amaechi said.
