Nigeria must learn from our break-up – Sudan Ambassador

Worried by the insurgency in Nigeria, the Sudanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Tagasir Tasul Ali, has warned that measures of unity must be embraced and all tendencies of break-up must be shunned by Nigeria.
Ali said this on Thursday when he paid a courtesy visit on the Niger State Governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, at the Government house, Minna, adding that Nigerians must unite to keep the country and Africa intact.
He said: “The citizenry should learn a very big lesson from the fate that befell my home country, which led to the granting of self determination to the Southern Sudan after a protracted war that was responsible for the killings of thousands of people both from the Sudan and Southern Sudan.
“In fact, what happened in Sudan should serve as a lesson that all of us must try to understand.
“Unity is critical and important.
“If you don’t give a chance to unity, you will give a chance to others who are interested in disrupting the whole set up for their own selfish interests.
“I think for Nigeria, it is critically important that Nigeria remains intact, not only for the sake of Nigeria but for the sake of the entire Africa.
“It is important.
“You all must come together, irrespective of political affiliation, religious belief and ethnic group, on the need for unity among yourselves, with a view to allowing peace to reign and for development.”
The Ambassador noted that the relationship between the two countries dated back to over 100 years, while about no fewer than 10 million Nigerians who are resident in Sudan are doing very well in businesses, law and other aspects of life and have co-existed peacefully with both their fellow country men and women and the rest of other African descent.
He said: “About 12,000 Nigerians are studying different courses like Engineering, Law, Islamic Studies among others in the Sudanese University.
“I remembered my first real contact with Nigeria was when I was an instructor in the Somali National University, in 1969 to 1970, and I was to teach Contemporary African Literature and that was when I came in contact with people from Nigeria like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Cyprian Ekwensi and JP Clark and all these good writers and so on.
“I read a lot about what was going on in Nigeria and Things Fall Apart has always been in my mind.”
Ali further disclosed that “the seeds of the cottons, which has become one of the leading cash crops being exported by Sudan to foreign countries, were brought from Nigeria.
“We look for areas where we can work with the Nigerian Government in some critical sectors of the economy like in the airline sector.”