“Of late, I have observed some very disturbing observations - Some tribes forming themselves into groups, saying Fula this, Mandinka this, particularly in Fulani. Let us be honest. I happen to listen to one radio phone-in programme on Star FM radio in Fula, and I was very disturbed,” he said in a recent engagement.
“The way I see them promote this ideology is to an extent discriminatory, threatening national security and national unity, and Government will not sit idly by and watch any group of people speak and behave in a manner that threatens our national unity.”
He added that no one should use a language to promote tribalism, saying: “As long as I am minister responsible, it will never happen in this country. The law is very clear; the constitution is very clear, and we will invoke the law against anyone, any group of people seen to be promoting tribalism at the detriment of national unity.”
The minister said that he happened to listen to a phone-in programme on a particular radio, which disturbed him so much that he couldn’t sleep.
“That phone-in programme I listened to that day, I couldn’t sleep, and if I remember the radio station, I wrote it down, it was Star FM. In Fulfulde, they were calling for a particular meeting that was held in Niamina.
“I was extremely disturbed, and I don’t think that is what we want to promote. If we are promoting association, it is to promote our language, to make sure it does not disappear, it does not fade off. We come into association to promote the speaking of the language, to promote maintaining of the language but not to spread tribalism,” he said.
“Let me underline this. We owe it to the people and it is our responsibility to make sure that we preserve national unity at all levels,” he said.
