Jonathan Task Politicians Against Personal Interest In Politics.

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President Goodluck Jonathan has urged
politicians to put the interest of the country
before theirs as they prepare for the 2015
elections.
This was stated as the President announced
that the celebrations of Nigeria’s Centenary
would kick off at the end of February.
Speaking at Our Lady Queen Of Nigeria Pro-
Cathedral Church Garki, Abuja, while
participating in a special new year service, the
President noted that politics should be played
in a way that would leave legacies for the next
generation, rather than wasting efforts on
selfish pursuits. He added that leaders would
come and go but the country would remain.
According to him, there is no need to waste
efforts heating up the polity rather than
focusing on the job as neither President nor
Governors are constitutionally entitled to stay
in power beyond two terms.
“All what we need to do is to make sure that
we continue to do things rightly. That is why I
always plead with my fellow politicians that yes
we must play the politics but let us take the
interest of the country more than our own
individual interest and as we continue to play
the politics in that direction, leaders will come
and go but the country will stay.
“Luckily, we have a constitution that nobody
will be a governor or president forever. It is
only in the parliament that you can be there till
you die.
“As long as we consider the interest of our
country, children, grand children and we begin
to plan for the next generation instead of
wasting all our energies to think about
ourselves, before we get to the next 100 years,
the country will be better. Nigeria can even
change in the next few years and things will be
better for everybody.
“By God’s grace, this country will be better in
2014. Even in the power sector that people
always make reference to, since we have been
able to do be first phase of privatisation and
generation and distribution have been handed
over to the private sector, we believe that even
before the middle of this year, power will be
reasonably stable and that will stimulate the
economy. I believe and I am convinced that
2014 will be a better year than 2013,” the
President said.
President Jonathan further stated that, “With
your commitment, with your prayers for us as
a nation, we will surely get to where we want
to go. As we enter this new year, we will surely
get our economy to continue to move in the
right direction and in the direction we want it
to move.
“We shall continue to work hard to make sure
that not just that the economy will be growing
based on economic parameters and indices,
but that jobs are available for our young men
and women and that food is cheap in our
markets for ordinary people to buy and eat.
That is the commitment of government. ”
Speaking on the Centenary celebrations, the
President noted that the New Year’s
celebration was significant as it marked the
100th year anniversary of the amalgamated
Nigeria.
“Surely, the country will get to where it wants
to get to. Today is a special day, very special
because we have been informing you that the
amalgamation of our country to what we now
call Nigeria happened on the 1st of January,
1914.
” Today, modern Nigeria is one hundred years
old. The formal ceremony will take place by late
February, the programme will soon be
advertised for all Nigerians to see and know the
areas they will participate because it is a
programme for all of us. All the religious houses
will be involved in one form of prayer or the
other.
“So, today, we are not just celebrating the new
year but we are also celebrating a special new
year. A new year that Nigeria, modern Nigeria
is 100 years. And we use this period to begin
to think what will be Nigeria in the next 100
years. Not just to celebrate 100 years of the
amalgamation of northern protectorates and
southern protectorates to make the modern
Nigeria, but what will be the future of our
children, our grandchildren in the next 100
years. That is what occupies our mind. That is
what we must all focus our attention on.”
Jonathan also assured Nigerians that the
government is steadily improving efforts
towards establishing the needed infrastructure
to contain the security challenges in the
country.
Speaking earlier, Cardinal John Onaiyekan told
the congregation that security challenges were
a global phenomenon, noting that the letter
sent to the world by Pope Francis showed that
the world was plagued by several problems.
The letter was relayed to the congregation by
Onaiyekan and it read, “My brothers and
sisters, these problems are not only in our
nation. You only need to read the Pope’s letter
to realize that all over the world, we have
problems of corruption, human trafficking,
drug abuse not to talk of wars and fratricidal
killings. We ask you Lord to come to our aid
and defend our nation.”