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Friday, March 29, 2024

Stop Portraying Nigeria In A Bad Light – Yakubu Gowon

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Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has implored politicians as individuals and as parties in the country not to debase the hard-earned integrity and credibility that has been built over the years by the founding fathers of the great nation.

Gowon, who spoke at the lifetime award ceremony which was organised by the Leadership Newspaper Group Nigerians, especially politicians, to try and create a good political and ethical image for the country.

General Gowon also asked all Nigerians irrespective of their parties to project the country in true light and say no to any act that might aggravate separation of secession.

In his own words, he stated, “Let us have no doubt that Nigeria is a nation, whenever I heard people saying Nigeria is not a nation, I said get out of it or get a nation of your own. What we need to do is that we should look forward to a better country that will satisfy the need of most people because even within the family, you cannot satisfy everybody, you can do your best, some will accept it and some will reject it,” he said.

He also implored that the citizen should rather pray and support government’s polices rather than criticize and sabotage them;

“Let us accept our country as a nation, put things right, and advice the leadership to do the things that are right. Pray to God to give them the wisdom to listen to others and try to put things right for the sake of Nigeria and the people.

“All those things that you think I have achieved over the years, especially the traumatic years from 1966 to 1975, I assure you, I could not have achieved them without your support,” he said.

Gowon talked about how he had advised the publisher of Leadership newspaper, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, contesting as presidential candidate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to allow the big aspirant such as Atiku Abubakar,  General Mohammadu Buhari and Kwankwaso to be clashing their heads until when they are all tired and worn out and then the shortest man of them all will emerge and probably snatch ticket.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde  Fashola, who was at the ceremony as a guest lecturer gave a detailed account of Nigeria’s political history and lamented on how the trends seems to have changed course in retrogression .

 

 

Fashola said Nigeria’s problems are not natural but a result of some self-cantered group, a problem that determination, thus expressing hopes that the country will pull through all the challenges.

The Lagos state Governor also commented on the Independent Speech by President Goodluck Jonathan on Independence Day. He described Mr President’s claim progress in the implementation of the transformation agenda as “rather hollow and unconvincing”.

 

“While a little self-congratulation may not be completely out of place, it is high time the government came down from its high horse to acknowledge the ugly realities of Nigeria’s underdevelopment.”

“Not much will be achieved by wallowing in self-congratulations instead of facing the facts. I don’t know about our government, but I consider it shameful, scandalous and unacceptable that a big country endowed with abundant natural and human resources like Nigeria would place 37th in Africa and 10th out of 16 in the West Africa sub-region. The only appropriate appellation for it is ‘big for nothing country’.”

 

Speaking further at the ceremony, The governor identified one of the ways address religious, ethnic and tribal crisis as he advised that Nigeria should discourage and de-emphasise ethnic identities in the affairs of the country.

 

“If we want change, the elections in 2015 are a good place to start. No amount of ‘stomach infrastructure’ should be sufficient to influence our votes. For me, the next elections is not so much about what the opposition brings as some people have argued. I know that what the opposition does might or might not be helpful.

 

Also present and honoured at the ceremony was Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State,  Ministerof Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Adewunmi Adesina, Governor Emmanuel Udaughan of Delta State, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State , Alhaji Abdul Fata Ahmed of Kwara state, Adams Oshiohmole Of Edo Sate, Aliu Wamako and Rabiu Kwankwaso were honoured as Leadership award.

 

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