President Bola Tinubu has said the “can-do spirit” of Nigerians was responsible for progress in Nigeria and other countries.
Tinubu said that Nigerians in the diaspora are seeing how well his administration has succeeded in realising the lofty dreams of their founding fathers.
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The president said this during his nationwide broadcast on Tuesday to commemorate Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary.
He noted that Nigerians are excelling in technology and arts, as evidence that the country’s founding dream of becoming a leader in Africa is still alive, though a “work in progress.”
“Exactly 64 years ago, our founding fathers chose democracy as a form of government and launched the dream of a great country that would lead the rest of Africa out of poverty, ignorance, and underdevelopment, a beacon of hope to the rest of Africa and the world,” Tinubu said.
“Over six decades later, we can look back, and Nigerians worldwide can see how well we have succeeded in realising the lofty dreams of our founding fathers.
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“The world is witnessing and benefiting from the can-do spirit of the Nigerian people, our massive intellectual capacity, and our enterprise and industry in all vocations, from arts to science, technology to infrastructure. The dreams that our founding fathers envisaged are still a work in progress. Every day, we put our hands on the plough, determined to do a better job of it.”
Tinubu, however, added that it is tempting to focus on what has been left undone and where the country has stumbled as a nation, but “we must never lose sight of how far we have come in forging and holding our country together.”
“Since independence, our nation has survived many crises and upheavals that led to the dissolution and disintegration of many other nations worldwide. Six years after independence, our country descended into a political crisis that led to a bitter and avoidable civil war.
“Since returning from the brink of that darkest moment, we have learned to embrace our diversity and manage our differences better as we continue to work towards engendering a more perfect union.”
