President Bola Tinubu has stated that to achieve a new Nigeria his administration promised there must be co-operation of all sundry.
The president maintained that a new, secured, peaceful and prosperity Nigeria desired by all would remain elusive unless Nigerians consciously change their mindset about the past and their leaders.
Tinubu who noted that a new Nigeria is possible with his renewed hope, said the bold steps his administration is taking to find lasting solutions to the myriads of challenges confronting the country call only yield desired results with the cooperation of all and sundry.
He was speaking at the opening of the 63 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja, which has as theme Getting it Right: Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation Building.
“I am not cynical, I am factual”, he said, “the critical and bold initiatives embarked upon collaboration and cooperation of the private sector.
“We are so blessed and we are still lacking, change of mindset is what we need.
“We accused our previous leaders, we complain too much about the past, it is not the solution, we must look forward, God has given us creative mind and will”, he said.
Tinubu while noting that poverty ought not to be a shameful thing, stressed it must not be tolerated but banished, lamenting that with all the resources in the country millions of homes in the country do not have electricity.
Calling for an interrogation of how the country arrived at its current deplorable state, the president stressed that the country cannot “continue to service external debt with about 90% of its revenue”, hence the hard decision his administration is making.
“If we must achieve greatness as a nation, we must take bold decisions”, he said though painful in the interim, adding that he might make some mistakes in the process but Nigerians should correct him in such instances.
While commending the NBA for the theme which he noted is timely, the president who wooed the bar to give his administration maximum support in order to succeed, told the lawyers, “I want to learn.
“Remind me of what I’m doing right, I will continue, whatever I am doing wrong, tell me, and I will change.
Earlier in his keynote address, the Group Chairman, United Bank for Africa and Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr Tony Elumelu remarked that at the heart of the gathering was the unity of one ambition and one duty which is nation building.
“There is no one in this distinguished gathering, that does not want the best for Nigeria.
Whether my learned friends of the Bar or our distinguished leaders present.
We know the potential of Nigeria.
“We know the resources, human and natural, that Nigeria has at her disposal.
§ We champion the successes of Nigerians globally – in international leadership positions at the WTO, at the UN, at the African Development Bank, at the Afreximbank, in technology, in music and entertainment, in business, in arts and in media, in film, in sports. Indeed, in virtually every human endeavour, Nigerians excel.
“We live in a world, where the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade grew up in Lagos and the United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, was born in Ibadan.
“n business, the Nigerian private sector is showing globally our capability, our ingenuity, our institutionalisation.
“We have global businesses with Nigerian origins: Let me name one – UBA, the United Bank for Africa, the only African Bank that operates in the USA as a deposit taking bank. We are now in Dubai, Paris, and London – and just as importantly 20 other countries in Africa – who would have thought 20 years ago, that Nigeria would be home to Africa’s global bank!
“But these successes, these role models are too few, too rare.
“We know too well the reality of Nigeria at home.
“We know our energy deficits, we experience the disillusionment of our youth, manifest in the tragic loss of talent, as our young, at times, and at great risk to themselves, seek opportunities abroad.
“Opportunities that our fertile, bountiful country should supply.
“We see the plundering of our commonwealth through oil theft and pipeline destruction in broad daylight!
“We experience every day the impact of climate change.
“We see our loved ones kidnapped and killed.
“Insecurity breeds disorder, feeds intolerance and destroys opportunity.
“Our country has experienced division – unnecessary division and the squandering of heritage.
“Nation building is a call to arms – a vital task – a necessity”, he said.
