Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Saturday urged Nigerians to unite in the fight against bandits and terrorists.
Tinubu said a united front would save the country from disintegration and food shortage caused by the activities of bandits.
He made the call after being awarded an honorary doctorate degree in Management by the Federal University of Agriculture in Makurdi, Benue State.
The former Lagos State Governor urged agricultural stakeholders to ensure that farmlands are not turned into battlegrounds.
Tinubu said: “Terrible people and strong forces want to break Nigeria’s appointment with its greater destiny.
“These terrible people seek not only to ravage the agricultural community but to visit misery on the rest of the nation through food scarcity and food costs that poor people can simply not afford.
“We must decide whether our farmland and grazing areas are to be battlegrounds, or they are to return to their role of feeding the nation.
“This is where committed Nigerians of all stripes and vocations must join in peace and unity.
“Whether city or rural dweller, whether farmer or herder, we must join in common cause against the real enemies that we face: the terrorists and bandits who attempt to pull us apart.
“Good Nigerians must stop fighting each other so that we can present a unified front against the common violent threat.”
In recent times, banditry has been on the increase in the Northern part of the country.
Students and residents have been a major target of bandits in Niger, Zamfara, Kebbi and Kaduna States.
On Friday, three students of Greenfield university in Kaduna were discovered dead after their abduction by suspected bandits.
The deceased students were among those abducted by bandits from the private university on Tuesday.
