Jonathan, GCFR, has addressed his fellow
Nigerians to honour the 54th anniversary of
Nigerian independence as a sovereign nation. We
present you with main points of our nation’s
leader’s speech.
1 . Nigerian independence: Optimism
President Jonathan noted that today also marks
“the tenth month of our journey into a
new century, having marked the
centenary of our nation in January this
year.” He remarked how, over the course of
those one hundred years Nigerians experienced
“triumphs and tribulations, benefits and
burdens, opportunities and challenges,”
“made some far reaching advances in
building a strong, united and prosperous
nation,” “overcame the forces of disunity
that culminated in a debilitating civil
war,” and “renewed our faith in one
another, and in our country.”
2 . Nigerian independence: Fighting
terrorism , Victims Support Fund
President Jonathan paid respect to the victims of
multiple terrorist attacks and assured that
“individuals who want to compel us to
live our lives their way” will not be allowed
to succeed.
President Jonathan announced that, “to assist
the injured, the displaced and the
bereaved,” his administration has launched the
Victims Support Fund.
“This Administration is committed to
making Nigeria safe for all Nigerians,
irrespective of our places of birth, how
we worship God and our political
persuasion,” President Jonathan said.
He expressed gratitude to our patriotic and
tireless security forces that continue to engage
the terrorists in battle.
“As Commander-in-Chief, I will continue
to do all it takes to enable them to keep
on inflicting devastating blows at the
heart of terror,” President Jonathan said and
urged Nigerians to “avail our men and
women in uniform of all the support they
need to fight and win this war.”
“To all those waging war against our
country, I ask that you lay down your
arms and embrace peace. To those who
have genuine grievances, I affirm that
Nigeria will listen to you, if you bring
your grievances to the table of dialogue.”
President Jonathan thanked “the
international community, and especially
our neighbours” for their “increased
partnership and solidarity,” “offering
assistance in confronting terrorism.”
3 . Nigerian independence: Developing
North East region
President Jonathan, addressing the nation on the
occasion of the Nigerian independence day, said
his administration is dedicated to “to fast-
track the economic restoration of this
region” “despite the machinations of the
terrorists and their sponsors.”
4 . Nigerian independence: National
Dialogue
In his Nigerian independence speech, the
President acknowledged that, despite the
challenges members of the 2014 National
Conference headed by Justice Legbo Kutigi faced,
it was a success.
“I have started by setting up the
Ministerial Committee headed by the
Honourable Attorney General of the
Federation to work out the modalities for
implementing the Report,” the President
said. He added that “a multi-ethnic country
like ours … must learn to embrace
painstaking dialogue until consensus is
established.”
5 . Nigerian independence: Elections 2015
President Jonathan emphasized that his
administration is working to ensure “that we
build and sustain a democratic
infrastructure anchored on free and fair
elections.”
“Election days must not be days of
violence and death. We must remain
vigilant to ensure that our electoral
process is characterised by peace,
security and transparency.
“I enjoin the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC), all security
agencies, politicians and the electorate to
work conscientiously and peacefully,
together, to consolidate on the gains of
the recent elections.”
In his Nigerian independence day address,
President Jonathan warned political leaders
against “overheating the polity” and
“translating the contest for power to the
destruction of the polity.”
“The love of country should rank higher
than our individual ambitions.
“We must remain committed to a united
and indivisible Nigeria within democratic
parameters. The protection of individual
rights, liberty, equality before the law,
freedom of thought, and a progressive
pursuit of a sound economy must be our
goal.”
6 . Nigerian independence: Sector
Development
President Jonathan observed that today, Nigeria
is acknowledged as the largest economy in Africa
by “every international monitoring and
ratings agency,” with a Gross Domestic
Product of $510 billion. These numbers also
place us as the 26th largest economy in the
world.
He named a number of initiatives to “fast track
inclusive growth, job creation, enterprise
development and industrialisation” :
Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and the
National Enterprise Development Programme
(NEDEP),a special support programme for Micro,
Small and Medium Enterprises, and the
Presidential Job Creation Board.
President Jonathan accounted for progresses and
upgrades being made in Power, Agriculture,
Infrastructure, Economic, Oil and Gas, Social,
Housing and Education sectors.
He vowed to further encourage “indigenous
asset ownership, utilisation of Nigerian-
owned and built assets, indigenous
participation in the provision of goods
and services.”
7 . Nigerian independence: Conquering
Ebola Virus Disease
In the closing points of his Nigerian
independence day speech, President Jonathan
commended the Federal Ministry of Health for
“swift, effective and comprehensive
action” while conquering the deadly Ebola Virus
Disease (EVD) brought to Nigeria recently.
He, however, adviced Nigerians to “adhere
strictly to all the guidelines that have
been given by our health officials to keep
Ebola out of our country,” since “the
Ebola battle is still raging elsewhere in
our sub-region” .
Concluding his Nigerian independence day
speech, Presdeint Jonathan expressed confidence
that our tomorrow “will be better than our
yesterday and today.” He prompted Nigerians
to “stand together in love and unity, as
one people under God,” reminding that we
are “one family” .
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