ON THE EVE OF A NEW YEAR - ATIKU
the presidential candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP) has given his
goodwill message and wishes for the new year to be born tonight.
My dear fellow citizens,
As
2018 comes to an end and 2019 beckons, on behalf of my family and I, let me
wish you and your family a very happy New Year in advance.
In
2018, we became the world headquarters for extreme poverty, however, I am
convinced that in 2019, if we chart a new course, we can become the world
headquarters for hope and extreme devotion to the cause of lifting our people
out of poverty.
2019
is as yet a blank page. As a nation, we must not settle for whatever it brings.
Rather, we must take collective action, through our choices, in making it a
year where we revive national hope, with visionary leadership that sees our
economy and institutions working again as they did in our golden era.
We
can chart a new course and open a new chapter that sees every Nigerian living
in peace and prosperity with their neighbour. It can be the year when our
youths finally get a job instead of being unfairly tagged as lazy. With
purposeful leadership, it can also be the year when we put an end to terrorism
and usher in a golden age of peace.
But
it will not just happen by itself. We have to make changes from the top all the
way to the bottom. We already have the vision, the vision of a nation that is a
beacon of hope for the Black Race and the world at large, what we lack and what
2019 can provide, is the leadership that has the capacity to translate that
vision into reality.
In
2019, Nigerians need a leadership that is 100% for 100% of Nigerians, 100% of
the time. We have seen where division and sectionalism has led us to. Now let
us try unity and patriotism.
Don’t
lose heart and hope. Nigeria is no stranger to overcoming difficulties. In
fact, we have an uncanny ability to perform our best when the worst is upon us.
I urge my fellow countrymen and women to remember how we became the first
nation in the world to defeat and overcome the Wild Ebola Virus, when even
First World nations were struggling with the scourge.
That
resilience is domiciled in our national psyche and together we shall win
forever. We shall win over forces of disunity. We shall win over forces of
poverty and backwardness.
But
more importantly, in 2019, I want Nigerians to know that it is possible to have
a leadership that is compassionate and that this does not equate to weakness. A
leadership that is bold but not domineering. A leadership that is intelligent,
but not arrogant.
Indeed,
that is the only type of leadership that can navigate the difficulties
currently facing our dear nation and lead us to Unity and Faith, Peace and
Progress, which are our national motto and which are the hope of all Nigerians.
Once
again, I wish you all a Happy New Year and may 2019 be the year of Nigeria.
Atiku
Abubakar
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