By Dayo Johnson

AKURE — AMID plans by some persons to de-market Nigeria in the international community, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, tasked governors to speak with one voice and defend the country’s integrity.

Afenifere’s National Organizing Secretary, Otunba Kole Omololu, in a statement, which condemned the move, said it was aimed at discrediting the administration of President Bola Tinubu within and outside the country.

It, however, urged the governors to prevent such from occurring.

The Yoruba body said: “A principled and vigorous defence of Nigeria’s democratic institutions and international esteem is both apposite and imperative.

“We specifically call upon members of the Progressive Governors Forum and the South-West Governors Forum to rise to the occasion and speak with a unified and resolute voice.

“Increasingly calculated manoeuvres by certain political elements intent on imperilling the cohesion of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and discrediting the administration of President Tinubu, both within and beyond our national borders.

“These orchestrated campaigns, often cloaked in the rhetoric of democratic dissent, are rapidly transgressing the fine line between legitimate political opposition and a pernicious assault on the nation’s global reputation.

“It is deeply lamentable that some have chosen international platforms to propagate narratives that cast Nigeria in an unflattering light, ostensibly under the guise of advocacy or reform.

“This growing proclivity for externalising domestic political grievances does little to advance our collective cause.

“Rather, it undermines national pride and compromises Nigeria’s standing within the international community.

“To besmirch one’s own country on foreign soil is neither sagacious nor patriotic.

“As a non-partisan yet nationally conscious organisation, Afenifere remains an unwavering custodian of the Nigerian project.

“We affirm our steadfast belief in the unity, progress, and sovereign dignity of the Republic. Thus, it is wholly unacceptable when personal ambition and self-interest eclipse the sanctity of our shared identity and national image.

“In a period marked by multifaceted challenges and strains on national cohesion, the burden of leadership must necessarily encompass the preservation of our homeland’s integrity.

“To remain tacit in the face of concerted calumny is tantamount to complicity. On this note, for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who spoke up in defence of the President and the nation, we say well done.

“Accordingly, we urge Nigeria’s political stewards, particularly at the sub-national level, to repudiate this creeping culture of acquiescent silence.

“Let no holder of public office allow transient political calculations to eclipse the primacy of national interest.

“The stakes are too significant, and posterity will not be kind to those who falter when the dignity of our republic stands in jeopardy.”