A time for service
ADDRESS DELIVERED
BY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF NASARAWA
STATE, ALHAJI
ABDULLAHI ADAMU ON THE OCCASION OF THE CELEBRATION OF THE
40TH
INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY OF NIGERIA ON 1ST OCTOBER, 2000.
It
is with a high sense of responsibility that I address you, the citizens of
Nasarawa State on the twin occasion
of Nigeria’s 40th Independence and the Fourth Anniversary of our
dear state. This is indeed an
occasion for sober reflection, stock taking and re-assessment of events and
developments in the history of our
beloved nation Nigeria, and of our hard earned state.
During the colonial
period, our forefathers and nationalists of blessed memory gallantly fought the
twin battle against slavery and colonialism without any form of reservation
whatsoever. The victory over slavery was followed by the victory over
colonialism on the 1st day of October 1960.
I am certain that
when our forefathers and nationalists like Late Herbert Macaulay, Chief Nnamdi
Azikwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo,
Chief Anthony Enahoro and a host of others too numerous to mention fought for
and obtained independence for our dear country, they all had a common vision for
a better and greater Nigeria in which there would be prosperity and not want,
wealth and not squalor, freedom and liberty, not oppression. And above all, good governance and democracy,
not dictatorship.
It is therefore
most disturbing and regrettable that after forty years of nationhood, some
Nigerians still think that it would have been better without independence.
Our regrets are to be further compounded by the preponderance of signals
of discord manifested in various forms and guises in different parts of the
country with very high propensity for dismembering the very essence of our unity
and bond of nationhood.
It must be recalled
that the horrifying consequences of the sad but avoidable civil war are still
fresh in our memories and this ought to deter us from all such actions and/or
omissions that are capable of returning us to those dark periods of the past.
On our part, we are ever determined as always to play our unifying role
in cementing bonds of brotherhood between the different components of our
federating states. In doing so
however, we shall not compromise our interest in the federation.
Apart from the
civil war which Nigerians fought to protect the unity of the nation, Nigerians
again had the opportunity to struggle against rule military to give us
democracy. As is the case with any
other form of battle, the struggle to end dictatorship in Nigeria has been a
protracted but memorable one.
Thus, after several
years of determined effort, this independence celebration is the first after
nearly two decades of military interregnum to be celebrated with fanfare.
The battle to install democracy was sustained by the realization of all
Nigerians that of all forms of government known to mankind, democracy remains
the most appealing.
Apart from the fact
that democracy gives the people the right to choose their leaders, the leaders
have a duty to lead in accordance with the ground norm and remain constantly
guided by the obligation to satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of the people.
This is in addition to the beauty of democracy, which is that both the
leaders and the led are equal before the law.
Hence, in a democracy, leaders become servants instead of masters or
lords. It is therefore incumbent on the elected representatives of
the people to continue to live by the tenets of democracy by being accountable
and transparent in all their undertakings.
It is against this
background that on our assumption of office, we made public declaration of our
intention to serve our people diligently and faithfully as true servants. Thus,
since may 29th 1999, we have left no stone unturned to ensure that we
do not only impact meaningfully on the lives of our citizens within the shortest
possible time, but also to work round the clock to restore hope and confidence
on public affairs and governance.
In just less than
one and a half years in office, our administration has lifted the clouds of
despair and hopelessness that had hung on Nasarawa State on the account of lack
of progress in all key social sectors. We have been able to embark on a chain of
development projects across social sectors to give hope to our people.
We are currently laying the infrastructural foundation for the industrial
commercial, and social development of Nasarawa State.
We have intervened
massively to boost the education of our children. We have renovated and equipped schools at all levels.
We have established new
educational institutions to improve the quality of manpower for the development
of our state.
In the health
sector, we have upgraded many existing hospitals and have established new ones
across the state to cater for the health our citizens.
We have embarked on
a comprehensive rural development programme which has resulted in the
electrification of many towns and villages and the supply of water to
communities spread across Nasarawa State. Our road construction programme is
opening up all parts of the state for rapid development.
The commercial and
industrial development of Nasarawa State has proceeded apace with the completion
of Karu International Market and plans to establish a number of factories
including beef plant, fertilizer plant, etc to improve the state’s economy to
ensure prosperity for all our citizens.
We have broadened
popular participation in governance through the stabilization of democratic
institutions and practices to consolidate democracy and good governance in our
young state.
The people of
Nasarawa State therefore have every cause to celebrate and to give thanks to God
for giving us a state and for our new democracy which has unleashed our
people’s energies for rapid development of our state.
As a diverse state,
we have a duty to continue to work for unity and peace in our state without
which none of the achievements we have made would have been possible.
I urge all citizens and groups to eschew all actions that will breach our
unity or disrupt the peace. As a
young state we cannot afford the luxury of unnecessary bickering and
distractions from our set development goals
and drive.
I therefore find it
imperative on this special occasion of the 4th anniversary of the
creation of our young state to call on all groupscurrently engaged in wrangles
over the location of the capital of Nasarawa State to sheath their swords and
save us valuable energy for
positive development of our state.
The recent
unfortunate incident in Lafia has understandably excited reactions from broad
sections of our state over the location of the state capital.
Even though we respect the rights of citizens to express themselves on
any matter within the law, it is our considered view that continuous bickering
over location of capital cannot serve us any good at this stage of our
development. It is an expensive distraction, which can harm the harmony we have
built in the last four years for the growth of our state.
I call on all
groups currently engaged in this unnecessary debate to divert their energies to
better and more rewarding pursuits. We
must put all these behind us as we have no time to lose on our march to rapid
development of our young state.
One of the most
fundamental attributes of democracy is transparency, which can only be
guaranteed where there is free flow of information between the Government and
the governed. Cognisant of this fact, this administration swiftly ensured the
completion of the State Radio Station whose performance has been quite
satisfactory. In a similar vein, we
have tried to establish the State Newspaper, whose first edition is on the
street today. I commend the
management of the newspaper for this feat and do hope that it will find itself
an enviable position amidst other print media in the federation.
In spite of all the
successes that have been recorded thus far, there are still quite a number of
areas of human endeavour that require urgent attention of government.
We cannot afford to fail our people.
For democracy to make meaning to our people, I call on all our elected
representatives, particularly at the Local Government level to remain
people focused and on tract in the provision of essential amenities.
I commend all our Council Chairmen for their people-oriented policies and
programmes so far and urge them all to keep the flag flying.
May I seize this
opportunity to call on all the good and well meaning people of the state to
continue to cooperate and support this administration whose commitment to the
course for which the state was fought are not in doubt.
Since the beauty of any game does not solely lie with how it is started
but how well it is ended and concluded, I enjoin us all to continue to remain
peaceful and law abiding so that government can have the enabling environment to
live up to its responsibility. We
cannot talk of greatness when we allow divisive tendencies to tear us apart.
Of course, no meaningful development can be achieved in a state where
violence, rumour mongering, suspicion and rancour are allowed to becloud our
sense of judgement and reasoning.
Finally, let us all
resolve to build a united, strong and virile Nasarawa State for ourselves and
posterity. As a government, we are determined to succeed in this endeavour.
Let us continue to keep hope alive.
Thank you and may
God continue to bless our effort.
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