This is the national broadcast by Pres. Jonathan on the occasion of Nigeria’s Centenary
Celebrations today Wednesday, 26th
February, 2014. Read his full speech below
Dear Compatriots,
1.
I extend warm greetings and
felicitations to all Nigerians as we celebrate our nation’s centenary; a
significant milestone in our journey to Nationhood.
2. One hundred years ago, on
the 1st of January 1914, the British Colonial authorities
amalgamated the Southern and Northern Protectorates, giving birth to the single
geo-political entity called Nigeria which has become our home, our hope, and
our heritage.
3. I have often expressed the
conviction that our amalgamation was not a mistake. While our union may have
been inspired by considerations external to our people; I have no doubt that we
are destined by God Almighty to live together as one big nation, united in
diversity. Continue...
4. I consider myself specially
privileged to lead our country into its second century of existence. And as I
speak with you today, I feel the full weight of our hundred-year history. But
what I feel most is not frustration, it is not disillusionment. What I feel is
great pride and great hope for a country that is bound to overcome the transient
pains of the moment and eventually take its rightful place among the greatest
nations on earth.
5.
Like every country of the
world, we have had our troubles. And we still do. We have fought a civil war.
We have seen civil authorities overthrown by the military. We have suffered
sectarian violence. And as I speak, a part of our country is still suffering
from the brutal assault of terrorists and insurgents.
6.
While the occasion of our
centenary undoubtedly calls for celebration, it is also a moment to pause and
reflect on our journey of the past one hundred years, to take stock of our past
and consider the best way forward for our nation.
7.
Even as we celebrate our
centenary, we must realise that in the context of history, our nation is still
in its infancy.
8.
We are a nation of the
future, not of the past and while we may have travelled for a century, we are
not yet at our destination of greatness.
9.
The amalgamation of 1914
was only the first step in our national journey. Unification was followed by
independence and democracy which have unleashed the enormous potentials of our
people and laid the foundation for our nation’s greatness
10. In
challenging times, it is easy to become pessimistic and cynical. But hope, when
grounded in realism, enables and inspires progress. Therefore, as we celebrate
our first century of nationhood and enter a second, we must not lose sight of all
that we have achieved since 1914 in terms of nation-building, development and
progress.
11. Today,
we salute once again the great heroes of our nation – Herbert Macaulay, Ernest
Ikoli, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief
Obafemi Awolowo, Alvan Ikoku, Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye, Dr. Michael Okpara,
Chief Anthony Enahoro, Mallam Aminu Kano, Mokwugo Okoye and Chief Michael
Imoudu among others.
12. We
must be inspired by our past to overcome the obstacles we face in the present
and honour our forebears by realising the promise of a Nigeria that is not only
independent but also truly unified, prosperous and admired the world over.
13. The
history of Nigeria since independence is the story of a struggle to fulfill our great promise. The
discovery of oil in our country in the late 1950s offered new hope of
prosperity but we have not always been able to reap the benefits in a fair and
equitable way.
14. The
situation was not helped by political instability and the frequent suspension
of democracy by military coups. During the civil war, the very existence of our
country was cast into doubt but
through it all, the promise of a Nigeria that is united, free and strong
remained in our people's hearts.
15. Thanks
to the efforts of our statesmen and
women, and millions of ordinary Nigerians, the
union endured and flourished. I would
like to specifically commend members of the Armed Forces for their
contributions and sacrifices to keep Nigeria one.
16. General
Yakubu Gowon had the wisdom and grace to declare that the civil war had seen "no victor, no vanquished" and
welcomed, "the dawn of national
reconciliation".
17. It
was in this spirit that General Olusegun Obasanjo collected the instruments of
surrender at the end of the war and later became the first military ruler in
our country to hand over power voluntarily to a democratic government.
18. While
the Second Republic did not last, his fine example was later followed by
General Abdulsalam Abubakar who paved the way for our current democratic
dispensation which has lasted longer than the previous three put together.
19. As
we celebrate our centenary, I believe that it is vital that we focus our
thoughts on the vast potentials of a unified and progressive Nigeria; and build
on the relative stability of the Fourth Republic to achieve accelerated
national socio-economic development.
20. I
also believe that the future greatness of our country is assured by the
favourable tail winds of a resilient population, ecological diversity, rich
natural resources and a national consciousness that rises above our
differences.
21. We
are a unique country. We have been brought together in a union like no other by
providence. Our nation has evolved from three regions to thirty six states and a
Federal Capital Territory.
22. We
have transited from the Parliamentary to a Presidential system of government.
We have moved our capital from the coastal city of Lagos to Abuja, at the
centre of our country.
23. Today
Abuja stands as a monument to our national aspiration for greater unity; it
symbolises our dream of a modern nation unhinged from primordial cleavages and
designed as a melting pot of our diversity.
24. If
in our first century, we could build a new capital city, we can surely build a
newer, stronger, more united and prosperous Nigeria in the next century that
will be an authentic African success story.
25. The whole world awaits this African success story. With our sheer size,
population, history, resilience, human and natural resources and economic
potentials, Nigeria is divinely ordained to lead the African Renaissance.
26. That is why I am confident that in the next 100 years, those who
will celebrate Nigeria’s second centenary, will do so as a united, prosperous
and politically stable nation which is truly the pride and glory of Africa and
the entire black race.
27. The
key to the fulfilment of that vision is our continued unity as a nation. Perhaps
one of the most amazing stories of our political evolution in the last hundred
years is that an ordinary child of ordinary parentage from a minority group has
risen to occupy the highest office in our country.
28. As
we march into the next hundred years, it is my hope that mine will no longer be
an extra-ordinary story but an accepted reality of our democracy that every
Nigerian child can pursue his or her dreams no matter how tall; that every
Nigerian child can aspire to any position in our country, and will not be
judged by the language that he speaks or by how he worships God; not by gender
nor by class; but by his abilities and the power of his dreams.
29. I
am proud and privileged to have been elected leader of Nigeria and I consider
it my solemn responsibility to act in the best interest of the nation at all
times.
30.
Dear compatriots, in line
with the thoughts of that great son of our continent, Nelson Mandela, let us
not judge ourselves, and let not the world judge us by how many times we have
stumbled, but by how strongly we have risen, every single time that we have
faltered.
31.
Even as we remain resolute
in our conviction that our union is non-negotiable, we must never be afraid to
embrace dialogue and strengthen the basis of this most cherished union. A
strong nation is not that which shies away from those difficult questions of
its existence, but that which confronts such questions, and together provides
answers to them in a way that guarantees fairness, justice and equity for all
stakeholders.
32.
My call for the National
Conference in this first year of our second century is to provide the platform
to confront our challenges. I am confident that we shall rise from this
conference with renewed courage and confidence to march through the next
century and beyond, to overcome all obstacles on the path to the fulfilment of
our globally acknowledged potential for greatness.
33. I
have referred to national leaders who did so much to build our nation in the
past hundred years but nation-building is not just a matter for great leaders
and elites alone.
34. All
Nigerians must be involved in this national endeavour. From the threads of our
regional, ethnic and religious diversities we must continuously weave a vibrant
collage of values that strengthen the Nigerian spirit
.
35. The
coming National Conference should not be about a few, privileged persons
dictating the terms of debate but an opportunity for all Nigerians to take part
in a comprehensive dialogue to further strengthen our union.
36. I
am hopeful that the conference will not result in parochial bargaining between
competing regions, ethnic, religious and other interest groups but in an objective
dialogue about the way forward for our nation and how to ensure a more harmonious
balance among our three tiers of government.
37. My
dear compatriots, as we celebrate our cent
enary, the security situation in some
of our North-Eastern States, sadly remains a major concern for us. Just
yesterday, young students, full of hopes and dreams for a great future, were
callously murdered as they slept in their college dormitories in Yobe State. I
am deeply saddened by their deaths and that of other Nigerians at the hands of
terrorists. Our hearts go out to their parents and relatives, colleagues and
school authorities.
38. We
will continue to do everything possible to permanently eradicate the scourge of
terrorism and insurgency from our country.
We recognise that the root cause of militancy, terrorism and insurgency
is not the strength of extremist ideas
but corrupted values and ignorance.
39. That
is why our counter-terrorism strategy is not just about enforcing law and order
as we have equipped our security forces to do.
It also involves expanding economic opportunities, social inclusion, education
and other measures that will help restore normalcy not just in the short term,
but permanently.
40. I
want to reassure Nigerians that terrorism, strife and insecurity in any part of
Nigeria are abhorrent and unacceptable to us. I urge leaders throughout Nigeria
to ensure that ethnicity and religion are not allowed to become political
issues.
41. I
hope and pray that one hundred years from now, Nigerians will look back on another
century of achievements during which our union was strengthened, our
independence was enhanced, our democracy was entrenched and our example was
followed by leaders of other nations whose ambition is to emulate the success
of Nigeria; a country that met its difficulties head-on and fulfilled its
promise.
42. Finally,
Dear Compatriots, as we enter a second century in the life of our nation, let
us rededicate ourselves to doing more to empower the youth of our country. Our
common heritage and future prosperity are best protected and guaranteed by
them. We must commit our full energies and resources to empowering them to
achieve our collective vision of greatness in this second century of our
nationhood.
43. That
is the task before our country; that is the cause I have chosen to champion and
I believe we will triumph.
44. I
wish all Nigerians happy Centenary celebrations.
45. Long
live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
46. I
thank you.
The fat lady hasn't sung in Robin Thicke's marriage ... at least according to him, because he has had time to think and he's now determined to win Paula Patton back.
