Our Future is Bright
Being Text of an Address by His Excellency, Dr. Abdullahi Adamu (Sarkin Yakin Keffi), Executive Governor of Nasarawa State at the Celebrations Marking the 46th Independence of Nigeria and 10th Anniversary of the Creation of Nasarawa State at the Lafia Stadium, Sunday, October 1, 2006.
With gratitude to Allah who alone made this day possible, I warmly welcome you all to this solemn ceremony marking the 46th independence anniversary of our dear country, Nigeria. I congratulate His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, my brother governors in the 36 states of the federation and my fellow Nigerians on this important anniversary in our national life.
On October 1, 1960, our country stepped into an unseen future as an independent nation. Today was part of that unseen future. Our country has arrived at this future as a united, strong and cohesive nation by the grace of the almighty God. And it will forge ahead, transforming itself from a mere geographical expression into a strong, united and prosperous nation by that same grace. Nevertheless, we cannot but recognise the contributions of Chief Obasanjo, my brother governors, members of the national and state assemblies and other stakeholders in moving our nation forward as a peaceful, democratic entity.
Our country was once shunned by the international community like a leper. It has put that inglorious past behind it. It has discarded the image of the unwanted and become, as it should be, the most important black nation in the world today. Its voice in the comity of nations is firm, strong, loud and respected by other countries. Like the phoenix, it has risen from the ashes of its past failures, disappointments and frustrated hopes. It is now matching confidently towards the rising sun as a modern and progressive nation. This is no mean achievement. Our leaders and our people have good reasons to bask in the glory of our victory over forces of national disunity. I thank our political and traditional leaders and I thank our people for rising up to the challenges of nation-building. It is my sincere hope and prayer that the almighty Allah will continue to bless our efforts so that together we will build that ideal nation for which some Nigerians paid the supreme sacrifice.
I have always found it necessary on this occasion every year to pay my humble tribute to those gallant and dedicated men who fought for, and achieved our independence from British colonial rule 46 years ago. I do so again today as a mark of our collective gratitude to those dear but departed nationalists who considered no sacrifice too great to make so that Nigerians would be the captains of their own ship of state and the masters of their own destiny. We are what we are today because of their vision and their singular commitment to the freedom and the independence of our country. But we must never forget the unwritten contract between them and us. Under the terms of that contract, all Nigerians, no matter their positions in life, have an obligation to be Nigerians first, Nigerians second and nothing but Nigerians in all circumstances and in all situations.
In its forty-six years as an independent nation, our country has passed through the crucibles and been forged, like iron, in the furnace of its many tribulations in its tortuous journey into nationhood. It has not been easy. At various stages, the unity and the cohesion of our country were severely threatened and tested through a combination of unhealthy personal ambition, suspicion and the inter-play of primordial fears. But the forces of disunity have always lost to the forces of unity. Few nations have had our experiences in nation-building and emerged from them stronger and more united. This occasion is, therefore, greater than the sum of its pomp and pageantry. Its relevance lies in its capacity to rekindle in all of us the fires of patriotism. Its importance lies in its ability to make all of us true defenders of our nation and its interests. As we celebrate down the length and breadth of this great nation today, let us not forget the challenges of nation-building that lie ahead of us and the sacrifices that our nation may call upon us to make for its sake.
In about seven months’ time, Nigerians will go to the polls to elect a new set of political leaders in the executive and the legislative arms of government at federal and state levels. In all nascent democracies such as ours, election time is a critical time in the lives of the people. It may bring out the best in them and it may bring out the worst in them. It may beat the drums of unity and it may sound the knells of ethnic rivalry and primordial fears. Like the Boys Scouts, we should be prepared; prepared to do our duty to our nation and its people as the occasion might demand.
The 2007 elections would be a critical test of how far we have come in our democratic journey. We have never had the experience of a civilian-to-civilian transition in this country. This will be the first time. There are understandable fears and anxieties. These fears and anxieties have been made more acute by the recent killings in some parts of the country. Rightly or wrongly, these killings have been blamed on political rivalries. We cannot deny that they cast a looming shadow on the tempo of political activities. But we must not give in to fears and anxieties. We must have the courage to forge ahead and defeat those fears and anxieties. Given our collective commitment to the sustenance of democracy in our country, I have no doubt that we will once again pull off this feat and make the peaceful and successful transition through the conduct of fair, free and credible elections the jewel in the crown of Chief Obasanjo’s achievements for the country.
As president, the ultimate responsibility for the conduct of the election rests with Chief Obasanjo. But he alone cannot do it. He needs the support and the co-operation of all Nigerians. His success is our national success. His failure is our failure too. Let no one make any mistakes about this. We must, therefore, commit ourselves to the success of the forthcoming elections. We must convince a sceptical world that we are capable of conducting free, fair and credible elections by being committed to those ideals. This is not Chief Obasanjo’s challenge. It is the challenge of all Nigerians. Let us meet that challenge.
October 1 of every year is a double celebration for us in Nasarawa State. Six states in the country, of which our state is one, share the same anniversary with the independence anniversary of our country. Our beloved state, Nasarawa, is ten years old today. Permit me, therefore, to heartily congratulate the good people of this state on this historic occasion. Some of the heroes in the struggle for the creation of our state are no longer with us. But we remember them today as always because they will eternally occupy a special place in the heart of this state and its people. We remember with gratitude too, those of them who were privileged to see the birth of our beloved state and are still with us. On behalf of the government and the wonderful people of this state, I sincerely thank all the heroes of our struggle. I thank the people too. Today is everybody’s day in the state.
Ten years is not a long time in the life of a political entity such as a state in a federation. It is, perhaps, but a blip on the national political radar. What we celebrate today is not the age of our state but what we have made of its creation. Let us to pause here and now and give some thought to what motivated us to demand for this state. We did not demand for it because we wanted a political space in which, to use the popular expression, we could do our thing. We agitated for it because we wanted a political space in which we would be the masters of our own destiny. We wanted a political space in which our people would dream dreams and take steps to actualise them as individuals and as groups of people. We wanted a political space for purposes of accelerated socio-political development. The areas that make up our state were for long victims of political suppression and wilful neglect. We won the struggle because it was a just struggle, consistent with the human spirit for independence and freedom.
What have been the gains of the creation of our stateÉ This is an important question. It often arises when people feel rightly or wrongly that they have not had what they consider to be their share of the state cake. But I raise the question because there is need for each and every one of us to re-examine what we have done to make Nasarawa the state of our dreams. The burden of the development of the state was never meant to be carried by some of the people all of the time. It was meant to be carried by all of the people all of the time. The field of our economic development was never meant to be ploughed with a few hoes but with all the hoes in the land. If we have shirked our duty in any way for any reasons, then we have failed to contribute to the development of our state. We all have a part to play to build a state in which the good things of life are not a right for some and a privilege for others but a right for everyone and a right guaranteed by all of us.
I am indeed privileged to be the chief steward of the state. I also consider myself the leader of the construction team in the state. As such, the good people of Nasarawa State expect me on this occasion to tell them how my team has performed. I welcome this unexpressed request. It is consistent with the right of the people in a democracy to demand for accountability from their leaders. When I assumed office as the first executive governor of the state more than seven years ago, I promised that my administrative would be fully accountable to the people for all its actions and decisions. I promised to run an inclusive administration in which everyone is a full and active participant in the urgent task of building Nasarawa State. I promised to run a people-oriented administration in which the weal and the welfare of the people occupy the primacy of place at all times and in all circumstances. These solemn promises constituted my covenant with the people.
I am proud to say that I have faithfully kept to this covenant. At necessary intervals, such as the presentation of the budget to the state house of assembly, I have rendered full account of the performances of my dream team of commissioners, special advisers and technocrats. It is easy for us to do this because we run a transparent administration as an essential component of an open door policy.
Our administration is consistently people-driven. Our policies and programmes are designed to serve and uplift the people. We refuse to give in to grandiose projects of doubtful benefit to the people. This is the secret of the giant leaps this state has made in its socio-economic development under our stewardship. Today, the once depressed rural state has been transformed into a vibrant, modern state; the once educationally backward state that could not produce five qualified students for university admission has become the new centre of educational excellence in the country; hope has replaced despair in our people and like the rest of the country, the people of Nasarawa State are on the cusp of a new dawn in their socio-economic development.
We have truly taken some giant steps in virtually all areas of human development. We would be the first to admit that we have not achieved all that we set out to achieve for the state and its people, given the constraints of our lean financial resources. But it is not an empty boast when we say that in keeping with our promise to make one kobo do for the state what one thousand naira cannot do for some richer states, our social transformation programme has become the reference point in this country. Look around you in this state and you cannot but be impressed by the evidence of promises made and promises kept.
Our rural development programme has been the core policy of our ambition to comprehensively and meaningfully develop the state. We created development areas to take government closer to where it matters most, the grassroots in the state. Consistent with this policy, we enhanced the status of our traditional institution. We upgraded some traditional stools and created new chiefdoms where some ethnic groups entitled to them had been denied over the years. Our latest revolution in grass roots administration was the enactment of the local government amendment act under which our traditional rulers are now part of the local government and state administration. Our objective is to make our royal fathers part and parcel of government. Indeed, given the calibre of people who occupy the thrones of their forefathers in the state today, it would be a disservice to the state and the people to confine them to the sidelines and thus lose their valuable contributions to the development of the state. If all hands must be on deck, then the hands of our royal fathers must be on deck too.
We were the first state in the country to tap the free powers of the sun to bring potable water to our teeming rural population. Solar power is also at the heart of our rural electrification scheme. Light and water are essential amenities. No one has the right to deny the people of these basic social amenities. But our people were denied them in the past. We have restored that right to them. The success of our rural water and rural electrification schemes has fundamentally transformed our rural areas. We have opened up all major communities in the state through the construction of all-season rural feeder roads. The transformation of our rural areas has helped to arrest the rural-urban drift in the state and reduced pressure on social amenities and reduced the incidence of anti-social behaviour. Indeed, we have made living in the rural areas a blessing and no longer a curse.
We have tackled health problems in the state with the same zeal we displayed in the transformation of our rural areas. At the inception of our administration, there were only four general hospitals in the state. These were woefully inadequate in meeting the basic health needs of our people. We need no one to tell us that health is wealth. Sick people do not contribute to the development of a society. Instead they are a burden. On our assumption of office, we took immediate steps to address the health needs of our people. You would recall that in our first one hundred days in office, we opened a new general hospital in Akwanga. Today, that depressing picture of our health delivery system has changed for the better. Each of the thirteen original local government headquarters now has a general hospital. Four new general hospitals have been constructed and have become fully functional in four of the development areas. Three other general hospitals are under construction in the development areas too.
We have even gone further than that. We introduced free ante-natal and post-natal care for all women in the state. All children from the point where pregnancy is confirmed birth to two months after delivery are now guaranteed free medical attention throughout the state. The state also offers free malaria treatment for everyone. The admirable performances of the state in national sport competition, including soccer, show that our people are becoming progressively healthier, thanks to our health care programme. This is the dividend of our health programme.
Our state is rich in tourism. Yet, this vital aspect of our development went untapped for years. We decided to tap it as part of our policy of opening up the state to the rest of the world. The state ministry of culture and tourism has the primary responsibility of executing our tourism policy. So far, the ministry has succeeded in compiling an impressive inventory of tourist attractions in the state. Our next step is collaboration between the government and the private sector to develop these sites and make them money spinners for the state. We have not done badly so far either. Our state is on the list of states being given special attention by the federal government as pioneers in tourism development. President Obasanjo is the chairman of the president council on tourism. The state hosted this committee sometime in 2004 and received the ultimate accolade, a presidential commendation.
In opening up tourist sites in the state, we have stimulated the rural economy with the revival of traditional hand crafts such as cloth and basket weaving and ornamental gourds. The Farin Ruwa hydro-electric project, which is both a tourist attraction and electricity project, undertaken by the state government has no equal in any parts of the country. It is the most ambitious programme of its type ever under taken by any state governments in the political history of our country. We under take it with courage because of our firm belief that its completion would transform the immediate communities and stimulate large scale farming and agriculture.
Farin Ruwa is a triumph of vision and undiluted commitment on the part of our administration. We did not discover Farin Ruwa water falls but we were the first to envision its potentials as a tourist attraction. Our exploitation of the unique water falls by turning it into a major tourist centre in the country as well as a major hydro-electric project shows that vision and commitment can turn the ordinary into the extra-ordinary.
The jewel in the crown of our social transformation is education. On assumption of office, we were confronted with the unaccepted face of educational backwardness. We took immediate steps to revamp the educational sector with the rehabilitation of dilapidated structures in our primary and secondary schools. We built new primary and secondary schools in various parts of the state. The establishment of the special science secondary schools, two in each senatorial district of the state, was part of our deliberate effort to kick start science education in the state. We also took steps to motivate our teachers at all levels.
We have committed more resources to this sector than any other because education is at the root of modern development throughout the world. It is the tool of modern progress. Man could not have gone to the moon and back without education. A society that is educationally backward is a society condemned to exist in the past. Our commitment to the rapid educational development of the state is predicated on our ambition to rescue our people from the clutches of ignorance and under-development and reposition the state to play its part in the social, political and economic development of the country. Nasarawa remains the only state in the country that consistently commits the highest percentage of its annual budget to education. We are proud of this because we are beginning to reap the fruits of the decision.
The apex of our educational development is the state university in Keffi. The university graduated its first set of students in February this year. Within only four years of its establishment the National Universities Commission rated it as one of the top twenty universities in the country. It was also rated as the best-funded state government-owned university in the country. Although our decision to set up the university was challenged by those whose horizon is limited by their limited vision, I believe that the university represents for all of the people of the state a major and proud achievement in our educational development. Had we given in to uninformed criticisms, the state would have no university today and the difference it has so clearly made in our manpower development programme would not, of course, have been made. And the state and its people would be the losers. The governments and people of other states in the federation whose sons and daughters are in the university would lose too. I find few things more gratifying than that this once educationally backward state is contributing so admirably to the manpower needs of the entire country.
The primary brief of the state university is the training of middle class manpower. But we appreciate the need to support this level of manpower with qualified corps in the lower cadre. It was for this reason that we decided to establish three technical schools, a state polytechnic, school of health technology and the school of nursing and midwifery in the state. It is thus clear that our educational vision is clear and consistent with our ambition to make Nasarawa a state that other states in the country can look up. Indeed, other states in the federation are looking up to us in the execution of the school feeding programme. This programme was formally launched at Laminga primary school by Chief Obasanjo on September 27 last year although it took off in June of the same year. Ours is today the most successful school feeding programme in the country. We have succeeded because we are committed. We are committed because we take the health of our children seriously. We take the health of our children seriously because it is incumbent on us to breed children who are healthy in mind and body and, therefore, able to learn.
The interesting point to note is that our sectoral development programmes are linked with bridges such that what happens in one sector influences what happens in other sectors. The wisdom in this linkage process is to avoid past national mistakes in which the various sectors of our national development were made to develop in isolation.
I have given this brief record of our progress not to blow my trumpet but to show that the creation of Nasarawa State has been a blessing to all of us. But let me quickly remind us that this administration has laid the necessary foundation for a greater Nasarawa State. Our challenge is to build on this solid foundation. We must not allow ourselves to be distracted from the challenges that face us. We must not allow ourselves to dissipate energy and resources on things that divide us. Let us replace mutual suspicion with mutual trust. Each one of us is a unique instrument in the development of our state. We must all play our part to build a great state.
Our achievements were not made by one man. It was made by all of us. No individual can take credit for them. The credit belongs to all of us in the state. But I will remain eternally grateful to the people for their whole-hearted support for the policies and programmes of our administration. Twice I sought their mandate through the democratic process and twice they overwhelmingly and unresistingly gave me their mandate. I feel humbled by their generosity. I am grateful for the privilege to serve them in this high capacity. Once again, I say a big thank you to you all.
This ceremony is an emotional one for me personally. It marks the last time that I will address this august gathering on the occasion of the anniversary of our state as its chief steward. This time next year, by the grace of God, a new executive governor of the state will perform this duty. But this does not mark the parting of ways between me and the people. It marks a welcome transition in the socio-political development of our country and our state. Democracy demands a periodic injection of new blood in the political administration of nation states. Each day moves us closer to the new date with history in our country. Let us take each step towards that date with renewed hope in the glorious future of our country and the sustenance and the full flowering of democracy. And so, help us, God.
I am committed to a successful prosecution of the transition programme in our state. I will do everything to ensure a successful conduct of elections and a peaceful change of batons in the executive and the legislative arms of government in the state. I welcome the aspirants who are gunning for the governorship of the state. All of them are worthy sons of this state. But only one of them will win the race. I urge them to commit themselves to running a fair race and to behave as sportsmen. They must be humble in defeat and magnanimous in victory.
It is important for me to assure everyone that I have no candidate for the governorship of the state. No one should parade himself as my candidate or a crown prince. My duty is to ensure a level playing field. However, I wish to appeal to the people of this state to make a good choice among the aspirants. We do not need an ethnic, sectional or religious champion as our chief steward. Our people must reject anyone who offers himself as such a champion. Our ideal leader must be a tried and tested man to whom the ability of men and women matter much more than their tongue or their religious adherence. He must be a man who has sufficiently demonstrated his commitment to the welfare of our people. Let the people choose and let them choose wisely.
Over the last two years, some of the good people of this state and my friends and associates from other parts of the country urged me to offer myself for the presidency of our country in next year’s general elections. At the time, I told them I would be guided by the decision of my party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The party has now spoken. The coast is now clear. I have, therefore, given a careful consideration to the urging of those who want me to offer myself and my own desire to be of continued service to our dear country. I have come to the conclusion that it would be irresponsible of me to deny the country its right to be served. This is the only country I have. I have sworn to serve it and to serve it in whatever capacity it may need me for the rest of my life. I have, therefore, taken an irrevocable decision to seek the endorsement of my party for the presidency. In taking this decision, I am embarking on a new political journey. It may be smooth and it may be rough. But whichever it is, I will be guided by the almighty God, the courage of my personal conviction, the support of my party and of all Nigerians. I ask for the support and the blessing of my people in Nasarawa State.
I am in the race to win fair and square, by the grace of God. For me, it is not a do-or-die affair. It should not be a do-or-die affair for any one. I urge all fellow aspirants to promise themselves and the nation that they too will abide strictly by the rules of the game. Let us be sportsmen and women. The ultimate decision on who steps into Chief Obasanjo’s shoes next year rests with the Nigerian people. We must let the people decide. And we must abide by the decision of the people. The integrity of our democracy depends on it.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your very kind attention. May God continue to bless our efforts.
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