AFRICA/NIGERIA - President Buhari launches an appeal for the unity of the country 50 years after the Biafran war

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - President Muhammadu Buhari launched an appeal for unity and national harmony, recalling the bloody war for the secession of the southern region of Biafra, which broke out 50 years ago, which resulted in two million victims.
Faced with new tensions in the south of the Country, with assaults on various oil companies, the President, a former soldier who fought in that war, said that now the majority of Nigerians were born after the war and have no memory of the horrors of war. The problems Nigeria has to face, from the desertification resulting in displacement of shepherds towards the south, the presence of Boko Haram, the collapse of government revenues due to the reduction in oil prices and the strong corruption of political life, cannot be manipulated to incite parts of the Country to secession said the President during his visit to his native State, Katsina.
This week (see Fides 09/05/2016) Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, had denounced the "terrible wind blowing in our Country" and "the flames of discord and hatred" to the point "that it is becoming very difficult to preach unity and the natural love for each other, while some already foresee a clash between Christians and Muslims". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 10/05/2016)

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