CLINTON
IS MY HERO
AN ADDRESS BY GOVERNOR
ADAMU DURING THE VISIT OF FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON’S TO
NASARAWA STATE
On behalf of the government and the good people of
Nasarawa State we most warmly welcome the former president of the United States,
Mr. Bill Clinton and his entourage to this lovely but rural settlement in Keffi
emirate. We say barka da zuwa.
Your visit here, Mr. President, is historic in a very
profound sense of the word. This brief ceremony is much more than the privilege
it is for us to host the immediate former leader of the free world. To us, this
occasion is a celebration of your outpouring of compassion for our country and
its people and evidence that you remain our big brother. Your love for our
country and its people remains a matter of pride for us. In the dark days of our
immediate political past, you stood by us. You threw your arms around us in a
gesture of brotherhood and sympathy. You were a source of inspiration to our
nation and its people. Thanks to you, our people developed the strong and
collective will to fight and in the end light the flame of democracy. Even as
the flame flickers in the heady winds of a new beginning we say it here and now
that the flame of democracy in our nation will never again be put out by the
gust of dictatorship. Thanks to you and other world leaders who were committed
to the restoration of democracy in our country, it is morning again in Nigeria.
For me personally, your visit is the fulfilment of a
dream. As young men, you and I had the same political hero, the late President
J.F. Kennedy. In an interesting twist of fate, you became my own political hero
as president of the United States. I was fascinated by your brand of politics. I
took keen interest in how you ruled America for eight years. If your
constitution permitted more than two terms, I bet you would still be the
president.
Then I longed for the day I would meet my political hero.
The day did come for me in October 1999 when we met at the International
Conference of Federations in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada and again when you
visited our country last year. But today is the mother of our meeting face to
face, the hero and his admirer. Kennedy, your hero received you and other young
men in the White House. You had the privilege of shaking hands with him and
there the seed of your dream to rule America was planted. Today, I have the
privilege of hosting you, my political hero, in my capacity as governor of
Nasarawa State, though I am making no claims on any seeds being planted today.
Your visit to this village underlines an important lesson
in democratic politics. That enduring lesson is this: Everyone counts. It is a
lesson this generation of political leaders in our country can only ignore at
their own political peril. We thank you for this vital lesson. We thank
you for being here with us today.
President Olusegun Obasanjo made your visit to this
community possible, thus honouring the government and people of Nasarawa State.
We cannot forget his gesture. We thank him for being so considerate.
The name of this settlement, Sabongari, which is Hausa
for a new town, may be slightly misleading. It is not a new town but a 274
year-old settlement founded by the Fulanis. As you can see, it predates the
amalgamation of Nigeria itself. But it remains a typical African village with
just the right mix of the ancient and the modern. Sabongari has lost nothing of
its character and characteristics as a rural settlement. Most Nigerians, no
matter how highly educated or powerful they may be, trace their roots to
settlements similar to this in every part of the country. Those who may think
that these villages have been forgotten by successive leaders at federal and
state levels are kindly reminded that desirable as it may be for our rural areas
to be transformed into urban centres, the village remains the soul of mankind.
As you know, Mr. President, it takes a village for us to know who we are,
what we are, where we were and where we are going. It takes a village to remind
us that no matter how far we may travel along the super highway of modern
civilisation, a typical rural setting such as this gives a name and a face to
nostalgia. It may be ironical but it is a telling fact that the more advanced
a nation becomes, the greater is the people’s thirst
for a simple, pristine life such as can only be found in a rural settlement like
this. Your desire to meet our peasants in their rural, natural surrounding makes
that point most eloquently. But it also takes a village to remind us that we
have challenges waiting to be tackled in our economic development and social
transformation. Our administration is facing this challenge squarely.
Nasarawa is a young but vibrant state. It was one of the
six states created in October 1996. Our people are predominantly peasant
farmers, producing such crops as yams, rice, cassava, sorghum, beans, guinea
corn, seseme seed, millet and tomatoes. Through dint of hard work, the peasants
have turned our state into the food basket of Nigeria.
Nasarawa State is also the home of solid minerals. More
solid mineral resources are found here than in any other state of the
federation. Yet, we remain essentially a rural state. Our state of
under-development in the face of such abundance of agricultural and mineral
resources is a replication of the irony of under-development found in most
nations of Africa. To make a difference is the challenge our administration
faces. This administration has been in power for only twenty-three months. They
have been twenty-three months of intense activities on all developmental fronts
– social, economic, industrial and
educational. We have taken small steps towards a
comprehensive social development of our state and the economic empowerment of
our people. The core of our rural development programme is the provision of the
basic necessities of life such as water, light, health and educational
facilities to our people.
We are happy to report here that the hands of committed
American investors and entrepreneurs are on deck with ours in several joint
ventures aimed at the rapid social and economic development of our state. We are
in partnership with American entrepreneurs in developing a feed-lot and the beef
processing plant at Mararaba near Abuja. The other is the solar energy for rural
electrification and the plant for producing Terra solar panels. We are also
putting up a factory for processing precious stones. These joint ventures must
be seen as logical developments from the African Growth Opportunity Act enacted
by you as president of the United States. It is beginning to bear the kind of
fruit you envisaged.
It is evidence that your place of honour remains assured
not only in Nigeria but also in Africa as a whole. Even as a private citizen of
the United States you remain a public international figure. Nor can your status
as a private citizen diminish your contributions to global peace and
development.
It is fitting that your visit to Nigeria is in connection
with the global conference on HIV/AIDS, which is ravaging the African continent,
nay the world. Our country has an unfortunate but a large share of this global
scourge. The battle against this latest threat to mankind must be fought with
determination and sincerity. The disease is no respecter of persons, nations or
boundaries. The developed world has the means to fight it and contain it. They
must help to make the HIV/AIDS drugs available and affordable for the world’s
poorest victims of the disease. The rich nations cannot be safe islands in this
swirling sea of a relentless disease because so long as this disease remains
even in the smallest nation so long does it threaten the rest of the world,
developed or developing. We join President Olusegun Obasanjo and other African
leaders in appealing to the developed world to assist Africa and other
under-developed nations to win the war against the AIDS scourge. We invite you,
Sir, to add your strong voice to this appeal.
Conscious of our responsibility to our people in this
regard, the Nasarawa State government has taken steps to educate young people
against the dangers of AIDS. We were the first state government to support and
provide financial assistance to Dr. Jeremiah Abalaka of Medicrest Hospital in
Gwagwalada, Abuja, whose claims for a cure for
HIV remains a matter of unfortunate controversy between
him and the federal ministry of health. While this needless controversy rages on
in the press and the law courts, 2.6 million Nigerians are staring at the
certainty of their demise. We call for an end to the controversy and its urgent
replacement with a more rational and pragmatic approach to the problem that
confronts us.
In this state, we have also organised a group of young
graduates who visit secondary schools to help educate our youth on AIDS control
measures. These youth are the most vulnerable to AIDS and therefore the most
threatened demographic segment in our country. We are happy to report that this
campaign is having a positive impact on our young men and women.
Mr. President, time does not permit us to show everything
that Sabongari can offer to an august visitor. You will therefore kindly permit
me the privilege and honour to now invite you to sit back and enjoy a typical
African entertainment in a typical African village setting.
Once more, you are most welcome.
Transmitted Saturday 28 April 2001
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