- Lagos Deputy Governor Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat spoke at The Companion 7th National Discourse held at the University of Lagos
- Senator Adams Oshiomhole warned that ethnicity is being weaponised by political elites as a substitute for ideas and competence
- Former Kano Governor Ibrahim Shekarau called for deeper religious understanding, saying all faiths promote love, justice and respect
Yaba, Lagos state – Obafemi Hamzat, deputy governor of Lagos state, has called on Nigerians to make conscious efforts to forge a shared national identity, one that rises above ethnic, religious and cultural loyalties.
Hamzat spoke on Sunday, August 23, 2026, at The Companion’s 7th National Discourse, themed ‘Interrogating Nigeria’s Democracy in the Context of Multiple Diversity’, held at the J.F. Ade Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Yaba. Legit.ng attended the programme.
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He explained that the country’s political system must find practical ways to contain its diversity without letting it erode national cohesion.
According to him, ethnic and religious identities are deeply embedded in Nigeria’s social and political fabric, and the task is not to erase them but to stop them from being exploited as tools of division. He also called for greater religious tolerance, urging citizens to respect other faiths rather than use religion as grounds for discrimination.
Hamzat said:
“The question that sociologists have not told us is how we marry our culture and democracy, without losing our identity and putting it into our democratic setting.
“As Nigerians, we must learn to accommodate our differences while we are also promoting a common national identity. The experience of other multi-ethnic societies showed the dangers of allowing identity and class differences to fuel conflict among us.”
Oshiomhole takes aim at identity politics
Delivering the keynote address, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North, urged Nigerians to reject ethnic and religious politics and to demand leadership based on competence and ideas rather than place of birth or faith.
Oshiomhole argued that Nigeria’s diversity is an asset, not a liability, and that a society where citizens are treated fairly regardless of their background will naturally develop. He was particularly critical of political actors who deploy ethnicity as a stand-in for policy.
He said:
“Our ethnicity shouldn’t be a source of challenge. It should give us all of the things that we need to be the greatest country, not only in Africa but in the world. This ethnicity is very dysfunctional. Nobody should be rewarded or punished on account of an accident of birth.
“Ethnicity has very little or no role to play, except to function as a tool in the hands of a segment of the political elite who substitute ethnicity in place of ideas.”
Shekarau calls for religious tolerance
The chairman of the occasion and former Kano State Governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, told Legit.ng on the sidelines of the event that there is no justification for religious conflict in Nigeria, arguing that citizens of all faiths are creations of the same God.
Senator Shekarau urged Nigerians to study the actual teachings of their religions, noting that Islam, Christianity and other faiths all promote love, kindness, justice and respect. Shekarau also cautioned political leaders against placing personal gain above the welfare of the people they serve.
Other eminent personalities spoke at the event.
Check out the post on X showing attendees at the 2026 National Discourse below:
Gumi’s ‘fatwa’ on clerics joining politics
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Sheikh Ahmad Gumi came down firmly on one side of a growing debate among Nigerian Muslims, saying there is nothing wrong with religious scholars entering partisan politics.
Gumi argued that clerics who choose to engage directly with governance are doing more than those who confine themselves to offering prayers for politicians.
Source: Legit.ng