The Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Authority (NEPZA), Hon. Emmanuel Jime, has said that all that has gone wrong with the nation can be fixed by Nigerians. “There is nothing wrong with Nigeria that cannot be fixed with what is right,” he said in his 57th Independence Anniversary message in Abuja. While acknowledging that Nigeria was passing through challenging times, Hon. Jime said it was a phase many nations had passed through and that for Nigeria, the country would come out of it stronger. He cautioned against using misunderstandings or political prejudices to hack at the taproot of national unity.
According to him, “Nigeria may not be a perfect country, but then, there is no perfect country anywhere. We may have our misunderstandings, but there is no country that does not have its share of misunderstandings. And we may be grappling with the daunting issues of nation-building, but the truth is that the best nation we can think of is still a work in progress.”
Warning against unwholesome political rhetoric as well as the the dangers of abusing democracy, the former Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly called for fresh perspectives on democracy, freedom, good governance, togetherness, citizenship, rights and responsibilities, adding that “what Nigeria needs now is more of the stabilising counsel of statesmen than the rabble-rousing of politicians.” Hon. Jime, who gave his felicitations via a Sunday press statement, went on: “In 1960, during his inauguration, President John FitzGerald Kennedy proclaimed:
‘We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well as change.’ While it is true that we are not inaugurating a new government today, we can still use the occasion of our 57th Independence Day celebration to inaugurate a new season of love, faith and hope in our Fatherland while patriotically dousing the embers of hate, violence and political agitations. “And if we are celebrating 57 years of nationhood, we must accept the sobering fact that we are an adult-nation; and adults don’t throw temper tantrums or resort to violence at every turn – adults sit down and discuss when misunderstandings occur.
“Moreover, as free people, with a common destiny and common aspirations, we must free ourselves from the fear of one another, we must free ourselves from the terror of hatred, the tyranny of violence; and we must beat a quick retreat from the route of hate-speeches and stand firmy on the template of a united, just and indivisible Nigeria as envisioned by our founding-fathers.”
The statement signed by NEPZA’s Head, Corporate Communications, Simon Imobo-Tswam, further reads: “Dr. Mandela once said: “if you talk to a man in the language he understands, that goes to his heart”. “Today, fellow Nigerians, on this our Independence Day, let us begin to speak to each other and to one another in our language – the language of brotherly love, togetherness, honour, dignity, justice and mutual respect.
“After quoting two American Presidents: J.F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton, one former South African President, Dr. Nelson Mandela, let me end my goodwill message by paraphrasing the immortal words of President Muhammadu Buhari, spoken in 1984 as military Head of State: ‘We have no other country than Nigeria. We must, therefore, not just remain here; we must take deliberate, creative and proactive measures to salvage it together: both for our own good and the good of unborn generations.’”
