Former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, has observed that Nigeria remains indivisible in spite of fears in some quarters of it’s possible disintegration by 2015.
Abubakar who said this in Minna, Niger State, over the weekend while speaking to journalists, observed that the umbilical cord that holds the country together was too strong to be broken.

“God has joined us together. Whether you break Nigeria into pieces, we will remain joined by our umbilical cord. No matter what happens our umbilical cord is still there. We will live together either as neighbours or as communities,” he said.

The former military ruler called on all Nigerians to live together in peace and harmony and to work towards achieving peace and security in the nation, adding that the security of the nation cannot be left in the hands of government alone.

He described those engaged in oil theft as unpatriotic, urging them to search their consciences and turn a new leaf.

“It is sad that some people are unpatriotic. They think they are getting their share by stealing whereas they are not. I want them to search their conscience to see if they are doing the right thing and turn a new leaf so that we can have a peaceful and developing country,” he said.

Abdulsalami also appealed to the striking university lecturers to call off their strike in the collective interest of the country and urged the government to see to their “legitimate” demands in spite of dwindling resources.

“I appeal to everybody to give peace a chance. Let the striking lecturers sheathe their swords. The government should also resolve issues at stake as fast as possible,” he said.

He said strike is normal all over the world but that in Nigeria, it has been abused and advised the lecturers to consider the government’s coffers and be “reasonable” in their demands.