As the nation celebrated her 53rd Independence on Tuesday state governors across the country asked Nigerians not to lose hope despite the number of problems currently facing the country, while some gave prisoners a new lease of life by releasing them from jail.
In Calabar Senator Liyel Imoke of Cross River on Tuesday urged Nigerians to look beyond the 53rd Independence Anniversary celebrations and work together for the nation’s economic advancement.
Imoke, who stated this at the country?s 53rd independence anniversary celebration in Calabar, said, however, that October 1 was the most important celebration in the country?s annals.
“It is noteworthy that Nigeria has remained great and stands united as one country in spite of the challenges facing the nation,?? he said.
The governor said his administration had ensured that the state witnessed massive economic development through the foreign investments attracted to it, which had created jobs for its teeming youths.
“This is why there has been political stability and social cohesion in Cross River,” Imoke said.
In his speech at the occasion, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Akin Ricketts, said October 1 was remarkable because it marked the victory Nigeria?s pre-independence leaders achieved in 1960.
Ricketts said Nigeria?s independence in 1960 brought expansive growth in human and infrastructural development.
And in Jos, as part of activities to mark the day, Plateau State Governor, Jonah David Jang granted amnesty to five convicted inmates in Jos Prison custody, urging the beneficiaries to reintegrate themselves into the society and be of good conduct.
This is even as Second Republic Governor of the state and pioneer National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Solomon Lar assured Nigerians that the country will remain a strong indivisible entity.
Jang said he acted based on the power conferred on him under section 212 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and in consultations with the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy.
Those granted the amnesty include: Jerry Arin, Iveh Arama, Peter Gazi, Domchang Jatau and Pankyes Yakubu; they have all been released unconditionally.
Lar, who sent in his goodwill message from the United States through the Executive Secretary of Solomon Lar Foundation, Mr Adeyi Major, said it was ?a great privilege for me to be part of the 53rd Independence anniversary of our great nation Nigeria. For me, and those of us who witnessed the lowering of the Union Jack, and the hoisting of Nigeria?s national flag, we have every reason to rejoice.?
In Delta Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan charged Nigerians to rekindle the bond of unity, peaceful co-existence and tolerance for one another as Nigeria celebrates its 53rd Independence.
Dr. Uduaghan gave the charge on Tuesday in Asaba during the 2013 Independence Day Celebration.
He said unity was the sure way to ensure sustainable growth and development of the country as a nation.
?In our daily activities, utterances, and interactions, we should positively impact on the unity and peaceful co-existence of the nation. We should show greater tolerance for views which are diametrically opposed to ours and allow democratic ethos inform our actions for the greater good of the greatest number of our people,? he stated.
While acknowledging the various challenges facing the nation, Uduaghan called for prayers and absolute commitment to the nation?s ideals so as to ensure sustainable development stating that ?no nation can develop in an atmosphere of chaos and anarchy?.
The Governor, who lamented the recent inexplicable and mindless killing of school children in Yobe State, condoled the bereaved families and called for vigilance on the part of all Nigerians to avoid the re-occurrence of such incidents.
Highpoints of the celebration was the cutting of the anniversary cake, cultural display and march past by students and pupils from various schools, youth/ voluntary and women organisations in the state.
On his part Governor Godswill Akpabio identified wanton insecurity in the country as a threat to unity and oneness, urging Nigerians to liberate themselves from the scourge.
Akpabio made the remark on Tuesday at Uyo Sports Stadium during the grand-finale of this year’s Independence Anniversary.
He said: “We must liberate ourselves from the wanton insecurity, which has become a threat to our unity and oneness. Violence is not a part of our national fabric; neither did it form part of our noble and dignified struggle for independence.
“I urge Nigerians everywhere to still the jarring sounds of bombs with harmonious songs of unity. Tears have no colour or tribe or ethnic group. When someone is killed or bombed in Kaduna, we cry in Akwa Ibom. Not because we know who is killed but because we are involved in humanity and one man?s pain is another man?s tears.
“Unity is our only pathway to a great nation. We need to build a Nigerian community founded on firm foundations of unity. We need to re-write the Nigerian story, which has been soiled by avarice, jealousy, nepotism and ethnicity. We need to write a new strategic national narrative founded on the faith that we have all the elements needed to turn our nation into one of the greatest nations on earth,” Akpabio said.
And in Oyo Governor Abiola Ajimobi charged Nigerians not to allow those he called agents of destabilization seeking to take the country back to its unpleasant past.
Besides, the governor also charged the Nigerian youth to join hands together in the promotion of honesty, patriotism, discipline, national unity and the war against corruption.
Speaking at the 53rd independence anniversary celebrations at the main bowl of the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan on Tuesday, the governor noted that the liberty being enjoyed today came with a great price for past heroes.
“For some of them, it was imprisonment; to some others, it was loss of great economic investments and yet to virtually all of them, they became pariahs in a land that their forefathers suffered to bring together,?? he said.
This, according to the governor, was why Nigerians must protect the national independence and the freedom of Oyo State from the hands of the locusts of the past jealously.
“The significance of Independence Day in Nigeria lies in the fact that today binds with one chord as Nigerians. No matter the imperfections of our nationhood and the mindless savagery ongoing in the Northern part of the country, today brings the hurtful nostalgia of the toils and struggles of our heroes past.
“This is why everyone within the country, and even in faraway lands of Europe, Asia and America see today as a strong symbol of the journey we undertook to get to where we are today. ?It is for this reason that the survival of our sovereignty must be pursued by all and sundry,?? he said.
Highlights of the celebrations included march past by pupils and students of various private and public schools, non-governmental organizations, interest groups, civil society organizations and award of prizes to deserving students and schools.
As Lagosians Tuesday joined the rest of the country to celebrate the nation?s 53rd Independence Anniversary, the State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) advocated compromise as a critical tool in seeking solution to challenges currently facing the nation.
Governor Fashola, who spoke at the Police College Ground venue of the National Independence Day Parade in the state, said Nigeria is too blessed to resolve her differences with threats of violence or actual violence adding that it has become critical to employ compromise in order to achieve meaningful results.
The Governor told the gathering of students and pupils from both public and private schools across the state, uniformed voluntary organizations, the Nigerian Police, paramilitary agencies and representatives of civil society groups as well as unions who graced the occasion, ?I believe that compromise is critical and we must all reach for it in order to make more meaning out of our situation?.
Quoting the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who also held that peaceful solution was the only viable means to arrest the growing political stalemate in the country in the early years of Independence, Governor Fashola declared: ?I adopt those evergreen words as my own today and urge all those involved in any form of conflict or disagreement to pursue peaceful solution?.
The Governor, who insisted that Nigeria is a land of immense opportunities in spite of all she has gone through, enjoined all Nigerians, but especially the young people, not to lose sight of the rich history of the nation and the sacrifices made by her founding fathers to free her from the clutches of colonialism.
?Many of our pre-eminent leaders lost many things. Some lost their lives, some lost their dignity, some lost their freedom?, the Governor said adding that the scars of those years ?of colonial dominion were now firmly etched and preserved in the Freedom Park on Broad Street in Central Lagos.
He told the Children, ?I urge you our children never to forget the history of your country; that October 1, 1960 was the day of nationhood for Nigeria. My parents thought me that history. I hope you will pass this on to your children?.
Also present at the ceremony were members of the lagos State Executive Council including the Head of Service, Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe, Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Adebiyi Mabadeje and Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Dr. Taofeek Folami, members of the State Security Council including the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, the Oba of Lagos, His Royal Majesty, Oba Rilwan Babatunde Akiolu 1, other traditional rulers, top military and police officers and other top officers of uniformed voluntary organizations as well as top government functionaries.
In Imo State, Governor Rochas Okorocha had called on the leadership to address Nigeria?s structural challenges to move the country forward.
Okorocha made the call on Tuesday at the Government House in Owerri while answering questions from newsmen on occasion of the 53rd Independence Anniversary of Nigeria.
He said that the structural challenges confronting the nation had left so many agitations in the minds of Nigerians and which made them to call for a national conference.
Okorocha said that though the leaders had been trying to fulfil her mandate to lead the country to success, they needed much effort to tackle the challenges.
He said that by enhancing governance, the leaders would go a long way in fulfilling the dream of the citizenry for improved social and economic wellbeing.
The governor said that the celebration provided the nation with the opportunity to review the journey so far, appraise its sovereign status and address any short comings.
Governor Okorocha observed that some Nigerians were pointing accusing fingers at their leaders because they felt that such leaders were yet to satisfy them in terms of performance.
