Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. has called on Nigerians to stop prevaricating but to build the nation they all want.
This was contained in a remark he made
at the symposium to mark the 63rd Anniversary of Nigeria’s Independence at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on Thursday.
Making his points, he said no matter the pain and difficulty, Nigerians must never give up on their dreams or lose their confidence in their leaders.
He however urged them to continue on the path of patriotism, no matter how bad the twists and turns on the road.
Citing an example with Nigeria’s Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tarawa Balewa, Akpabio said Balewa saw to the birth of Nigeria “without bitterness or bloodshed”.
Urging all hands to be on the deck, he asked: “How come a nation, its first Prime Minister declared to be destined to move with quiet dignity to our place on the world stage, is now laboring with many indignities in the world stage?
“Why would a nation which was said to have come to this task (nation-building) better-equipped than many, become ill-prepared in meeting simple challenges of the time?”
He added: “My answer is in William Shakespeare’s immortal words, that there is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.”
He however said that he believed that the country took the tide when it served by electing President Bola Tinubu and his vice, Sen. Kashim Shettima.
“We took the tide when we voted for our senators; we took the tide when we voted for the honorable members of the House of Representatives. Therefore, I assure all Nigerians on this memorable day that we will not lose our ventures,” he said.
Urging Nigerians not to loose fate, the Senate President said: “To those who may feel that Nigeria has nothing to celebrate because of the tough economic times we are in, let me remind them that every sunset is a welcome opportunity to reset and reboot, and every sunrise should be met with new perspectives.
“Let them not mistake the present pains of childbirth which comes with expectation for the pains of constipation which only comes with bile”.
He also advised Nigerians to not allow the present circumstances which he saw as temporary to becloud their permanent sense of pride now, that they have a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
