Senate President, David Mark, yesterday urged Nigerians to have faith and remain steadfast in promoting peace and unity no matter the challenges.
Mark in a goodwill message to Nigerians to mark this year’s Independence Day anniversary said the indivisibility of our nation is not negotiable because there’s no better place than Nigeria.
He recalled the nation’s chequered political history since 1960, during which Nigeria went through 30 months old fratricidal civil war, various ethno-religious conflicts and assured that our crisis are surmountable.
The Senate President in the statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, dismissed as untrue the insinuation in some quarters that Nigeria has not made progress, since independence.
He said, “Let us cast our minds back a little and see the number of road networks, schools, universities, health institutions, telecommunications and a host of others.
“We may not have been where we want to be but we have made appreciable progress and we can do more. All we need to do is to strengthen our unity as one people with one mission and purpose.
“The stable democracy has offered us opportunity to harness our abundant resources for good. Nigeria has passed through many challenges in the past and we came out of it.
“The security challenges; this Boko Haram can be defeated if we unit to fight them. I believe the Boko Haram, terrorism or insurgency is alien to us as a people. We have the capacity to defeat them and confined them to the dustbin of history.”
He promised that genuine complaints and agitations among Nigerians arising from the structure of our polity can be addressed by government but noted that the perceived imbalances cannot be corrected by taking up arms against each other.
Mark said, “We must therefore continue to shun individuals or groups that encourage, preach and practice division among our people. We must shun every harbinger of hate and bound together as a people of common interest and destiny.
“As legislators we will continue to do our part to wit; provide the needed legislative framework for the Executive Arm of Government to continue to deliver of the dividends of democracy to our people.
“Let me use this occasion to remind our fellow country men and women that as 2015 elections approaches, we must not lose sight of the fact that election should not be seen as war. We must play the game according to the rules.”
Mark advised politicians to restrain themselves from making inflammatory and treasonable statements or actions.
He said, “Our collective or individual ambitions are subordinate to the national interest. We must therefore, always consider the primacy of our national interest. After all, it is a trite fact that for us to even actualize our various political visions, our nation must first exist.”
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday asked political leaders to be mindful of utterances that could heat up the polity.
He called on political office holders to play politics by the rules as the country headed for the 2015 general elections.
In a statement in Abuja to mark Nigeria’s 54th independence anniversary, his Special Adviser, Media, Mr. Imam Imam, quoted Tambuwal as also advising Nigerians to fight for their democratic rights and ensure that good governance and democracy thrived.
“Tambuwal appealed to the political elite to moderate their utterances and be mindful of their responsibility to the country.
“He said with elections scheduled for early 2015, all leaders must avoid acts that heat up the polity,” part of the statement read.
The speaker assured Nigerians that the House of Representatives would work to uphold the unity of the countryý.
His Deputy, Emeka Ihedioha, said the country would overcome its current security challenges to “claim her rightful place in the international community.”
However, to restore the country’s past glory, he urged leaders to be patriotic, whileý calling on the followers to defend the country’s unity.
“Though there is much that is desired to bring our country to its place of pride, there is also much that is being done to move the country forward.
“Our number one priority and commitment in the House of Representatives is always to move Nigeria forward through progressive legislation and other legislative interventions that will bring succour to Nigerians from all walks of life irrespective of tribe, creed or political affiliations”, Ihedioha added in an independence message issued on his behalf by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Oke Epia.