The European Union and Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, on Tuesday urged Nigerians to prioritise dialogue, national cohesion and equal citizenship as the country battles worsening insecurity.
The call was made in Abuja at a programme themed “Discourse on Nigeria’s National Identity: Revisiting the Indigene–Settler Question.”
The event brought together diplomats, clerics, policymakers and civil society leaders who warned that the country’s lingering divisions were worsening violence and undermining state-building.
Speaking at the forum, the Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador Gautier Mignot, stressed that rebuilding unity had become critical as insecurity continues to fracture communities and fuel mutual suspicion.
“We believe in the virtue and power of common reflection and dialogue to address the tensions of a society, debunk the narratives that fuel them and identify solutions and further actions.
‘In the challenging times which Nigeria is going through in terms of insecurity and conflict and related dichotomies or differences of perception, this is even more important,” he said.
Mignot noted that the stakes for Nigeria were existential, insisting that true state-building requires a citizenship framework that rises above indigene–settler labels and guarantees equal rights for all.
While acknowledging constitutional guarantees of citizenship, he stressed that Nigeria must translate those promises into daily reality.
“The European Union stands resolutely with Nigeria in this noble pursuit, advocating for a robust framework of citizenship that transcends indigeneity, ensuring equal access to opportunities, resources, and governance for all who call Nigeria home.”
Drawing parallels with Europe’s own turbulent history, the ambassador said diversity can trigger conflict if not handled with strong political will.
“Europe’s experience shows that embracing diversity requires deliberate policies and political will to build unity without erasing difference, a path Nigeria can adapt to its unique context,” he observed.
He also commended the National Peace Committee, headed by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, for keeping the conversation on national cohesion alive.
In his welcome remarks, Kukah, convener of the National Peace Committee, warned that Nigeria remains trapped in cycles of mistrust, violence and identity clashes many decades after independence.
“Recent developments in Nigeria suggest that we are still so far away from the goal posts that our founding fathers set up for us. We are still ravaged by miniature internal wars, quarrels, squabbles, dissensions, clashes, and altercations,” he lamented.
He said unresolved national questions have become a major barrier to peace, development and collective prosperity.
“Issues and questions that we ought to have resolved still continue to surface and haunt us, slowing down our capacity to trust one another and making nation-building a syllabus of forced errors and crises. The question of who we are as Nigerians remains unresolved”, he continued.
Kukah described Nigeria as a country weighed down by grief and exclusion.
The cleric argued that unless Nigeria builds a platform that unites all citizens, ethnic and religious affiliations will continue to define political and social identities.
“Today, Nigeria has become a cauldron of tension, misery, trauma and desolation for the majority of its citizens who cannot enjoy the so-called sense of belonging contemplated by the Constitution.
“Unless we focus on our common citizenship, we shall continue to mourn, carry our corpses and bury our dead, singing our dirges of hopelessness in vernaculars or different hymn books”, he added.
The bishop also warned that unresolved fissures were now being exploited by violent actors.
“The killers are not the cause of our instability. The killers have only identified the cracks in our differences, exacerbated by the indifference and incapacity of the state. If we do not mend quickly, we shall break ultimately.
“This land was not given to anyone based on their ethnicity or religious preferences. It was given to all of us, and no one is holding it in custody for anyone. We must all have equal access and be guided only by law”, he stated.
The interventions by the EU and NPC come at a time when Nigeria is grappling with a worsening security crisis that has escalated into coordinated attacks across multiple states.
In the past 13 days alone, bandits have abducted at least 490 people in raids stretching from Sokoto to Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Borno and even parts of the Federal Capital Territory.
The Senate, in an exclusive interview with PUNCH Online, warned that unless the country urgently strengthens community-based policing and local intelligence networks, security agencies may be unable to contain the expanding violence despite President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide security emergency and ongoing military operations.
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