ABUJA, Nigeria (Chatnewstv.com) — The head of Nigeria’s drug enforcement agency says the country’s diversity should be seen as “a gift and a trust,” not a burden, urging citizens to preserve national unity despite years of mismanaged ethnic relations.
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, made the remarks Saturday in Abuja during the public presentation of Buni Boy, a book written by the late legal scholar Niyi Ayoola-Daniels.
“What moves me most is not only the book itself but also the life of its author and what that life represents,” Marwa said. “It speaks to the unity and strength woven through our diversity as Nigerians.”
Marwa said the narrative in the book reminded him of a time in the 1960s “when life was plain in its blessings and people showed more kindness in their daily dealings,” adding: “Our diversity is not a burden but a gift and a trust we must safeguard.”
He said his upbringing across Zaria, Enugu, Abeokuta and Lagos, as well as his teenage years at the Nigeria Military School in Zaria, underscored to him that Nigerians across ethnic lines “regarded ourselves as kin.”
“It was never a school for northern boys alone,” he said. “Whether you speak Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo, we saw ourselves as one. Our teachers reflected the same mix. We didn’t see a Yoruba Commandant; we saw a Nigerian.”
Marwa said the Nigerian Army, where he served for more than 30 years, strengthened his belief in unity. “Intermarriage and close fellowship pushed us to look past ethnic lines,” he said. “In my private and professional life, my friends come from every corner of the country.”
The NDLEA chief also reflected on his time as military administrator of Lagos state, saying residents showed him “great love” despite their hostility toward the federal government at the time. He recalled pressure from the military hierarchy in 1999 to block Bola Tinubu — now Nigeria’s president — from winning the governorship because of his pro-democracy activism.
“After seeing Senator Bola Tinubu’s strong campaign and popularity, the military hierarchy instructed me to prevent him from emerging governor,” Marwa said. “But I chose to conduct a free and fair election that produced the most popular candidate. The rest today is history.”
Marwa said Nigeria’s challenges stem from years of mishandling its diversity, but warned against any push to fracture the country.
“These difficulties cannot justify any idea of tearing the nation apart,” he said. “Our challenges should push us to repair the fault lines and pursue greater inclusion.”
He praised Ayoola-Daniels’s widow, Leticia, for preserving her husband’s legacy and said the book’s themes resonate with him because he once served as military governor of the old Borno state, where Buni Yadi was located.
“The transformation of an eighteen-year-old boy in the 1960s and the wisdom of a judge who held firmly to justice reflect the very heart of the Nigerian spirit,” Marwa said.
