Former military ruler Abdulsalami Abubakar has urged Nigerians to shrug off ethnic and tribal inclinations that fuel unrest and disunity in the country.

Mr. Abubakar, a retired general who chairs the National Peace Committee, told reporters in Minna on Tuesday that Nigeria could be heading close to the “point of no return” if the country’s internal crises persist. “In the last two weeks or so, tension has been growing in the country and embers of disunity, anarchy and disintegration are spreading fast and if care is not taken, this might lead us to a point of no return,” the former Nigerian leader said.

Nigeria has been beleaguered by widespread insecurity — ramped up in recent months by banditry, vicious insurgent attacks, kidnappings and other varieties of violent crimes.

Mr. Abubakar, however, reckons that the recent spate of ethnic conflicts in some parts of the country “is adding to the problems.”

There have been calls for the evacuation of Hausa-Fulani pastoralists from the Southwest, following incessant killings and kidnappings said to be perpetrated by herders who occupy the region’s forest reserves.

This came against the backdrop of farmer-herder clashes in most parts of the country — instigated by the invasion of farmlands by herdsmen for cattle grazing.

“We at the National Peace Committee, wish to add our voice to the voices of millions of Nigerians calling for calm in these difficult times because these times demand that we all join hands to resolve our challenges so as to keep our country united,” Mr. Abubakar appealed.

“We do not have the luxury of trading blames,” he added.

Wading into the clash of interests between northern and southern leaders on the excesses of Hausa-Fulani herders, the former head of state admonished state governors to “tone down their rhetoric” in the handling of “divergent voices and frustrations within their states.”

Ondo governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who chairs the Southwest governors’ forum had recently excoriated his Bauchi counterpart, Bala Mohammed, for defending herdsmen who bear assault rifles.