By Lucky Isibor
The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has called on Ijaws of Edo State, not to take the State Government’s tolerance for granted.
Obaseki who made the call in commemoration of the International Day for Tolerance, marked on November 16, each year, said the state government’s commitment to a free society where people can express themselves freely, must not be taken as grounds for violating the law.
“We are creating a culture that appreciates human diversity in all its colours for a robust pool of ideas that would drive socio-economic development at an unprecedented speed in Edo State,” he said.
“To oppose what is cast in law by acts of illegality such as the purported installation of one Godwin Oguyenbo, as the “Pere of Olodiama Kingdom,” an Ijaw community in Ovia North East Local Council Area of the state, is irresponsible enough” he stressed.
The governor urged the few people behind the plot to beat a retreat in the interest of the majority of Ijaw people of Edo State, who have since expressed their willingness to abide by only laid down laws in the state.
We are proud of our diversity as a state and our peaceful coexistence, but will not tolerate acts of illegality by any group, who for their selfish desires want to rail-road the peace-loving Ijaw people of Edo State into a criminal aspiration.
He added that the state government will continue to protect all law abiding indigenes and friends of the state.
The International Day for Tolerance was set aside by the United Nations in its efforts at strengthening tolerance by fostering mutual understanding among cultures and peoples. “This imperative lies at the core of the United Nations Charter, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is more important than ever in this era of rising and violent extremism and widening conflicts that are characterised by a fundamental disregard for human life,” the UN said.
