Nigeria Receives Goodwill Messages from Queen Elizabeth, Abdulsalami, Jonathan, Others at 60
The Queen of England, Elizabeth II Wednesday led in the congratulatory messages to Nigeria as she celebrates her 60th independence anniversary today.
Among those who sent goodwill messages were former President Goodlcuk Jonathan, former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) and the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan.
In a statement by Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, queen’s Elizabeth’s message was delivered by the British High Commission in Nigeria to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The queen was quoted to have said in the message, “It gives me great pleasure to offer my warmest congratulations on the 60th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence, together with my best wishes for your country’s continued happiness and prosperity.
“The United Kingdom and Nigeria benefit from strong and enduring ties as Commonwealth partners through shared history and most importantly, our people. These are bonds that I hope and believe will flourish long into the future.”
Jonathan had also in his message said “Like many other great nations, our journey has been that of mixed fortunes. Our nation has been through periods of progress and times of setbacks. We have experienced eras of strength, unity and faith as well as seasons of weakness, trials and despair. Despite these challenges, we have remained as one, and nurtured our democracy to 21 unbroken years.
“I, therefore, urge us to make investments that will shore up the democratic gains and work towards building strong and virile institutions. We need to harness the greatness that lies within our diversity and the strength of our population, to recreate and build the Nigeria we desire. We must de-emphasize our fault lines and concentrate on the silver lining within our lands.”
Similarly, Abdulsalami, was quoted saying, “You see, the issue of nation-building takes time. It’s not a matter of the conference. You put another conference, what are you going to discuss that hasn’t been discussed. If you look into the archives, there are a lot of things that were discussed and recommendations made, how many of these recommendations have been implemented?
“And if we sit down again and start talking all over again, how long will it take us? To me, I think the government, our parliamentarian, our legislators, would do us a world of good if we go back to the archives and sieve these recommendations that have been discussed and recommended and implement them.”
The Senate President also wrote: “While we celebrate the Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of our country as a sovereign nation, the occasion is also auspicious for a sober reflection on the progress that we have made, the challenges that we face and the future that we desire as a nation.”
President Muhammadu Buhari will this morning hold a ceremony in celebration of the anniversary.
Among those who sent goodwill messages were former President Goodlcuk Jonathan, former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) and the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan.
In a statement by Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, queen’s Elizabeth’s message was delivered by the British High Commission in Nigeria to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The queen was quoted to have said in the message, “It gives me great pleasure to offer my warmest congratulations on the 60th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence, together with my best wishes for your country’s continued happiness and prosperity.
“The United Kingdom and Nigeria benefit from strong and enduring ties as Commonwealth partners through shared history and most importantly, our people. These are bonds that I hope and believe will flourish long into the future.”
Jonathan had also in his message said “Like many other great nations, our journey has been that of mixed fortunes. Our nation has been through periods of progress and times of setbacks. We have experienced eras of strength, unity and faith as well as seasons of weakness, trials and despair. Despite these challenges, we have remained as one, and nurtured our democracy to 21 unbroken years.
“I, therefore, urge us to make investments that will shore up the democratic gains and work towards building strong and virile institutions. We need to harness the greatness that lies within our diversity and the strength of our population, to recreate and build the Nigeria we desire. We must de-emphasize our fault lines and concentrate on the silver lining within our lands.”
Similarly, Abdulsalami, was quoted saying, “You see, the issue of nation-building takes time. It’s not a matter of the conference. You put another conference, what are you going to discuss that hasn’t been discussed. If you look into the archives, there are a lot of things that were discussed and recommendations made, how many of these recommendations have been implemented?
“And if we sit down again and start talking all over again, how long will it take us? To me, I think the government, our parliamentarian, our legislators, would do us a world of good if we go back to the archives and sieve these recommendations that have been discussed and recommended and implement them.”
The Senate President also wrote: “While we celebrate the Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of our country as a sovereign nation, the occasion is also auspicious for a sober reflection on the progress that we have made, the challenges that we face and the future that we desire as a nation.”
President Muhammadu Buhari will this morning hold a ceremony in celebration of the anniversary.
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