Obasanjo vows to uphold unity

President Olusegun Obasanjo told traditional rulers in a meeting on Thursday that he would uphold the country's unity despite unrest, AFP said.

One of the recent pressures his government has had to face is the attempt by predominantly Muslim northern states to implement the harsher strictures of Islamic Sharia law. In reaction to this, governors in the southeast states have been calling for a confederal setup, rather that the present federation. In his southwest regional homeland of the Yoruba, Obasanjo has come under pressure from radicals to organise a national sovereign conference on the country's political character.

Obasanjo once commanded Nigeria's 3rd Marine Commando Division in the southeast during the civil war in which the Igbos tried unsuccessfully to secede.

On the Sharia crisis, Obasanjo has expressed satisfaction with the decision by northern governors to set up a committee of Muslims and Christians to discuss the introduction of Islamic law. He also praised the decision by traditional rulers to form a body to ease community tension.

In their daylong meeting in the city of Kaduna on Wednesday, the
traditional leaders resolved to uphold the county's unity and warned that the Sharia issue should not be used to "threaten the corporate existence" of Nigeria.

This meeting committed itself to "a truly united Federal Republic" and urged Nigerians "to give the present democratic government a chance" to rule.