*File photo by Channels
The Presidential flag bearer of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has reflected on the past and present uncertainties confronting Nigerians nationwide, but assured that he will “prioritise education, healthcare, security and productive enterprise.”
These, among others form the highpoints of Obi’s 66th Independence Day anniversary message, “Nigeria at 66: Looking Back, Looking Forward”, posted in his X handle.
The full text of his address reads below:
Nigeria at 66: Looking Back, Looking Forward
Fellow Nigerians,
Today we mark the sixty-sixth anniversary of our independence. It ought to be a day of celebration and thanksgiving to God Almighty for the gift of life and for the immense blessings He has bestowed on our nation—our diversity, our abundant human and natural resources, our vast agricultural potential, and the relative absence of devastating natural disasters.
It should also be a day of appreciation and patriotism: a day to remember our founding fathers and all those who made selfless, and in many cases supreme, sacrifices for the birth, survival and growth of our dear nation. We must acknowledge the efforts of past and present leaders who have laboured, however imperfectly, to build a better Nigeria.
Yet independence anniversaries must never be reduced to mere celebration. They are moments for honest national reflection. We must look back, examine where we stand today, and ask ourselves whether we are moving in the direction our founding fathers envisioned.
In national planning and strategy, every serious nation must continually ask three fundamental questions:
Where are we today?
Where do we want to be?
How do we get from where we are to where we want to be?
These questions are especially urgent now. Despite the enormous promises made by the APC-led government in 2023, our nation continues to face deepening challenges across virtually every critical sector of national life.
Today we stand before the world as a nation:
With an extraordinarily large population living in poverty and severe hardship; over 140M
With one of the largest populations of out-of-school children in the world; over 18M
Where insecurity, terrorism, banditry and kidnapping continue to threaten lives and livelihoods, just recently 37 young Nigerians in their productive age lost their lives
Where millions of Nigerians struggle with hunger and food insecurity; over 40M Nigerians will be in extreme hunger by the end of 2026.
With unacceptably high rates of infant and maternal mortality; Nigeria today is the worst place to be born.
Where youth unemployment and underemployment remain alarmingly high; over 35M
Where drug abuse and substance misuse increasingly threaten our young population; today 14% as against global average of 6%
Where life expectancy remains among the lowest globally, today 54 years against global average of 74 years
And the list goes on.
This reality demands serious, sober and honest reflection. Socrates taught that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” By the same principle, an unexamined nation cannot successfully chart its future. We must therefore ask ourselves: Are we cursed, or have we become the curse through the choices we have made and the failures we have tolerated?
The answer cannot be that Nigeria is cursed. We are a nation immensely endowed and blessed. Our greatest problem is not a lack of resources; it is the failure to convert our enormous resources into human development, productivity, security and shared prosperity.
Only yesterday, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and I returned from a two-day visit to Sokoto State. We held extensive consultations with people from different parts of the state on insecurity, out-of-school children, poverty, youth unemployment, drug abuse and other challenges confronting our people.
In concluding the visit, we went to the Internally Displaced Persons camp at Ramin Kura within Sokoto metropolis. What we saw was deeply troubling. Thousands of women and children live in deplorable conditions, displaced from their homes and deprived of the basic necessities of life. Many of the children have no access to education. Mothers and children have limited access to basic healthcare. These are Nigerians who should be living in their communities, going to school, farming their land, conducting their businesses and contributing to the economy. Instead, they live as displaced persons in their own country.
What we saw in Ramin Kura is not an isolated story. It is a reflection of the suffering experienced, in different forms, across many parts of Nigeria.
And yet, while ordinary Nigerians struggle with these realities, this present government often behaves as though these problems belong to another country. The political leaders, have failed our country and, most importantly, we have failed our children.
This must change.
My message today is not one of despair. It is a message of hope, determination and responsibility. I dare to proclaim with full assurance that a new Nigeria is possible.
As President of Nigeria, I will make governance measurable, accountable and centred on the welfare and productivity of our people. Within the first year, Nigerians will begin to see the tangible impact of purposeful and effective leadership.
We will confront insecurity decisively so that our farmers can return to their farms, our children can return to school, businesses can operate freely, and families can live without fear. No Nigerian should be forced to live in an IDP camp because his or her government has failed to provide security. My administration will work to ensure that Nigerians displaced by insecurity can begin to return safely and with dignity to their communities.
We will move from a consumption-driven economy to a productive economy, one that creates jobs, expands opportunities, supports agriculture and manufacturing, invests in human capital, and makes Nigeria a country where young people can build meaningful lives.
We will prioritise education, healthcare, security and productive enterprise because these are not luxuries. They are the foundations of a functioning nation.
As I have always done, I will lead by example. In four years as President of this great nation, I will not spend my holidays outside Nigeria. My holidays will be spent in Zamfara State; Borno State; Kwara State; Ebonyi State; Edo State; Ekiti State and other Nigerian States.
I want to continue to see Nigeria. I want to know Nigeria. I want to spend time with Nigerians, listen to them, understand their challenges and celebrate their resilience.
We will build a Nigeria that is secure, united and productive; a Nigeria governed with competence, accountability and justice; a Nigeria where no child is denied education because of untold poverty or unbearable insecurity; where no mother dies because she cannot access basic healthcare; where farmers can return safely to their farms; where young people can find opportunities to work and prosper; and where public resources are deployed strictly for the public good.
We will build a Nigeria that our children and future generations will be proud to inherit, a Nigeria where unity, peace, justice and prosperity are not merely words in speeches, but lived realities for our people.
On this sixty-sixth Independence Anniversary, let us look back with gratitude, look around us with honesty, and look forward with courage.
The Nigeria we desire will not be built by prayers alone, nor by promises alone. It will be built by leadership that understands that public office is a sacred trust, by citizens who demand accountability, and by all of us who refuse to accept failure as our destiny.
It is time to build the new and productive Nigeria that is possible.
May God Almighty bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. -PO
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