But in his goodwill message on the occasion, former President Goodluck Jonathan encouraged Nigerians not to despair in the face of challenges, and accordingly called on them to renew their faith in their country and work towards its greatness and achieving prosperity for the citizens.
Jonathan also urged Nigerians to reflect on the achievements of past heroes even as he charged them to look to the future by drawing inspiration from the “efforts of our numerous compatriots whose heroism and patriotic endeavours have continued to lift the status of our nation.”
The text of his statement:
“Fifty-Nine years ago, we walked into the road of political freedom when the Union Jack was lowered and the Green-White-Green Flag hoisted as the symbol of our sovereignty.
“Citizens sang for joy, with heartbeats of hope and eyes flooded with a new vision of liberty and justice.
“In these past decades, we have lived with the mixed reality of abundance and lack, peace and conflict, hope and despair. Despite the challenges, we have kept faith in the strength of our unity and stood firmly to uphold Nigeria’s honour and glory. It is for this spirit, that we have always emerged stronger in the face of trials.
“As we celebrate our 59th Independence Anniversary, let’s honour the memory of those who committed their lives towards advancing the course of our freedom and wellbeing, which this day signifies. We should also be inspired by the efforts of our numerous compatriots whose heroism and patriotic endeavors have continued to lift the status of our nation.
“No matter the troubles that challenge our glory, we must not despair. Fellow Nigerians, let us strengthen faith in our country and work together towards a prosperous nation.
“Happy Independence Day, Nigeria.”
Continuing, the ex-President party, the PDP said that retrogressive forces in the troubled country are also seeking to undermine citizens’ freedom as guaranteed by the constitution as well as emasculate the will and aspiration of Nigerians as a people.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement said in the last four years, Nigeria under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari, ‘’has been faced with the challenge of falling from being one of the fastest growing economies and home to world’s happiest people to become world’s poverty capital with a citizenry confronted by misery, insecurity, escalated violence, bloodletting, kidnapping, banditry and worsened insurgency.’’
The party spoke as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, was busy appealing to the popular Nigerian people including the traditional rulers to join the Legislative arm of the Federal Government in their quest to build a better Nigeria.
The Speaker said being the custodian of the country’s tradition traditional rulers should ensure that the unity and development of the country become the centre of their subjects’ commitment.
While urging Nigerians to remain united as the country marks her 59th Independence Day anniversary, Gbajabiamila also enjoined Nigerians to pray for the country and her leaders for the entrenchment of good governance and the well being of the people.
He said Nigeria has come a long way as one indivisible entity, which every citizen must work to protect, pointing out that at a time like this, prayers and unity of purpose will help ensure the country remains one.
He also tasked Nigerians to continue working hard to realise the mission and vision of the country’s founding fathers, who fought for the country to become what it is today. ‘’As we mark our country’s 59th Independence Anniversary, we must remain steadfast, united and prayerful for our country to remain one and overcome her challenges.
‘’It is also incumbent on us all as citizens to pray for our leaders so that God Almighty will continue to guide them aright. Let’s all work together as one people. In the face of some of the challenges confronting us as a country, we have no choice but to work hard to overcome them. As leaders, we are already doing that. But we need the support of the citizens to achieve that’’, the speaker said.
Gbajabiamila’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, said in a statement that his principal was speaking on Monday while receiving 13 traditional rulers from Akoko North West/East Federal Constituency of Ondo State in his office.
Led by the Okukare of Ikare land, Oba Akadiri Momoh, the monarchs told the speaker and other members of the House that their visit was to appreciate him for the opportunity given their subjects to serve the country in some standing committees of the House.
They also pleaded with their host to intervene in the completion of an abandoned power transmission project in Oke Agbe, rehabilitation of the federal roads in their area, that have gone bad, as well as the establishment of a federal tertiary institution within the constituency.
Responding, the host after appreciating the royal fathers for the first-of-its-kind visit to the 9th House, assured them that their demands will be looked into with the necessary intervention made.
While he thanked the traditional rulers for appreciating the selection of their sons to serve as leaders of some House Committees, Gbajabiamila emphasized that the selection of committees’ chairmen was carried out with a lot of thoroughness based on certain criteria, noting also that the visit of the monarchs will not be taken lightly.
According to the speaker, ‘’rarely do we get to sit with our fathers who have broader perspectives on Nigerian situation. Broader perspectives in the sense that we are legislators, trained and looking things from a legalistic point of view and our own experiences and understanding of the law and the constitution, which is the way we should look at things.
‘’But when I said broader perspective, it goes with a Yoruba saying that no matter how old or experienced you are, you cannot have the rags of the older ones. We are happy that you are with us, because as our fathers coming with a rich history of the Southwest and of Nigeria as a whole, that is why we feel privileged so that you can enrich our knowledge of Nigeria. We cannot trade your experience, money cannot even buy it.
‘’That is why we believe in nation-building as a joint task for everybody, including your good selves; that is why I consider you the fourth arm of the realm, I know our journalists are considered as the fourth arm of the realm but I see them as the fourth arm of the republic. I hope we begin to realize that when we have a crop of members that are committed to their constituencies, states and nation-building like the ones we have now, it behoves on us to use them for as long as we can use them in the legislature.’’
On how some federal legislators from Ondo were made committee chairmen, the speaker said: ‘’Selection of chairmanship of committees came with a lot of deliberation, a lot of thoughts went into it. We didn’t roll the dice, it was a serious thought process.’’
On a power project and the establishment of a federal tertiary institution, Gbajabiamila said, ‘’I have noted the Oke Agbe TCN project. We’ll look at it, find out how, what stage it is, what is delaying it, and we will look at the hurdles and make sure that we bring that kind of development to you. Due attention will also be given to the education institution you talked about.’’
Meanwhile, the PDP has commended the citizenry for their resilience in standing up for the unity and survival of Nigeria despite the daunting challenges, noting that the October 1 date remains an undying signpost of ‘’our freedom and unity as a nation. It reminds us of the roots of our national cohesiveness; the sacrifices of our heroes and our determination to live harmoniously and succeed as one people, in all spheres of human endeavours; a national distinctiveness for which we are known and respected all over the world.
‘’We celebrate the resilience and industry of Nigerians in various fields within and outside the shores of our country as well as the fortitude displayed by our citizens to remain united despite the odds. It is indeed depressing that after 59 years of independence and efforts by patriotic Nigerians in nurturing democratic practice and tenets, the last four years have experienced a complete retrogression to primordial division, impunity, constitutional and human rights violations, assault on institutions of democracy, disobedience to court orders, electoral malpractices and governance by a cabal’’, PDP said.
The opposition party has however expressed optimism that Nigeria will eventually come out of the woods and urged Nigerians to use the occasion of the independence anniversary to rekindle their commitment towards the unity, stability and development of our fatherland, especially as ‘’we collectively await the retrieval of our stolen Presidential mandate at the Supreme Court.’’
While urging leaders at all levels to be committed and sacrificial in the discharge of their duties and desist from empty promises, rhetoric and propaganda, as Nigerians look up to them for solutions, the PDP according prayed for the stability of the country and wished Nigerians happy independence celebrations.
