The Nation Newspaper

Tag: President

  • Sovereignty of Nigeria not negotiable -Labour

    Sovereignty of Nigeria not negotiable -Labour

    Organised Labour Movement in the country has urged Nigerians to stand up with one voice and fight those promoting division on the basis of primordial affinity in the country.

    Mr Ayuba Wabba, President, Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) gave the advise at a news conference jointly addressed by the Trade Union Congress, (TUC) and Civil Society Allies on the state of the nation in Abuja.

    Wabba said it was to make their positions clear in unequivocal terms on the unity and sovereignty of Nigeria on the drum beats of war in the country.

    “You have been witnesses to the degeneration of the national conversation into threats and counter-threats; pulling down the federation by some desperate forces and which are being conveyed in vile and base language.

    “These persistent hot exchange and attacks tend to threaten the foundation and integrity of our sovereignty and unity.

    “These do not represent the true feelings of patriotic Nigerians for one another.

    “Rather, they symbolise the intensity of greed, implacable arrogance, and desperation of the elites, some of whom have been sponsoring the hate campaigns that can only lead to the disintegration of our dear nation.

    “Thus, those fanning the embers of disunity needs to be discouraged and schooled on the realities of war, we appeal to all Nigerians,” he said.

    He, therefore, called on Nigerian workers, pensioners and peasants not to allow themselves to be used as cannon folders for the selfish interest.

    Wabba said that over the decades, labour had stood for “one Nigeria” and still committed to the values of the founding fathers.

    He said that the labour movement was determined to stop those throwing the nation to another avoidable civil war.

    He further decried the escalating social and economic injustice, poor living conditions of people, inability of several states government to pay living wage or even ensure the payment of salaries as and when due.

    The labour leader listed others as massive unemployment, lack of productivity as a result of de-industrialisation, galloping inflation, devaluation of the currency among others.

    “We should therefore look at positive options, peaceful, rigorous and altruistic of reforming the system.

    “We will continue to underscore the need for good governance in our country as a basis for any realistic development and eventual emancipation of our people.

    “As the issues in contention can be resolved through good governance, sustainable and transparent fight against corruption and addressing inequities and injustice in the system,” he said.

    Also, the TUC president, Mr Bobboi Kaigama, while speaking on true federalism, called for the accountability of the electorate in the country.

    Kaigama called on government to set up a strong think-tank to look at the 2014 National Conference report as it was vital for development and stability of the country.

    He noted that the current government only had 30 per cent participation in the National Conference and that the report should not be abandoned.

    Speaking, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) called on Nigerians to look at the things that bind them together and not things that will separate them.

    Falana said that there was no nation without challenges and problems, but the ability of the country to overcome the challenges remain the main issue.

    On the issue of restructuring, `We cannot be having political restructuring without economy restructuring. “If you are talking about restructuring, you cannot be selling the assets of the country to individuals.

    “Those who are talking about restructuring are not interested in the Chapter 2, of the Constitution, which is the fundamental objective that states shall be made justifiable towards the right to education.

    “The right to health, the right to unemployment benefits and the right to a living wage and we must remind them to address these social services of our people,” he added.

  • I’ve been vindicated, says Senate President

    I’ve been vindicated, says Senate President

    Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday described his acquittal by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) as a vindication.

    In a statement signed by him, he said he bore no grudge against anyone over his trial.

    The outcome of the case, Saraki said, had strengthened his faith in the judiciary, which he noted, “could indeed provide sanctuary for all those who seek justice”.

    The statement reads: “I thank the Almighty Allah, the ultimate Judge and the repository of all powers. He alone has brought about this victory. I am immensely grateful to all my colleagues in the National Assembly for their abiding support. All through my trial, they demonstrated their strong conviction about the choice we all decided to make two years ago. I thank members of my family for their unflinching support. I thank all friends and supporters back home in Kwara State and across the length and breadth of our country for their prayers and their sacrifices. My gratitude also goes to all members of my legal team for their tireless efforts to ensure the cause of justice is served.

    “After undergoing the crucible of a tortuous trial, my vindication today calls for celebration.  It is my belief however that if there should be any celebration at all, it should be a celebration of the hopes that this judgment gives us as citizens that despite all the challenges that we face as a country, we are well on our way to building a country where the innocent needs not be afraid. I therefore urge all my supporters to refrain from any unbridled triumphalism. The challenges that our country faces today are enormous and do not allow for wanton celebration. Instead, we should all reflect on the significance of this moment and what it meant for our democracy.

    “On a personal note, I harbour no grudge against anyone, regardless of the role they might have played… I believe that If my trial had in anyway given hope to the common man that no matter the forces arraigned against him, he can still get justice in our courts, then my tribulation had not been in vain.

    “Once again, I thank my colleagues in the Eighth Senate for standing firm. Regardless of the distraction of my trial, we have achieved more as legislators than the previous Senates. Now that this distraction is over, we can even achieve so much more. We must now proceed from here with greater vigour to deliver on the expectations of Nigerians and show that this Eighth Senate can indeed play a central role in improving the quality of lives of our people.

    “Lastly, I thank all the gentlemen of the press for your abiding interest in this case, which I believe had contributed in no small measure in ensuring that truth and reason ultimately prevailed”.

  • Retirees defend union president

    Electricity Sector Retirees Association of Nigeria (ESREWAN) has denied allegation of corruption and violation of labour laws levelled against its President,  Chief Temple Ubani and other executive members by the electricity branch of Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP).

    Reacting to a statement by the interim leadership of the Electricity sector branch of the NUP, asking security agents and the nation’s anti-corruption agencies to investigate and prosecute  Ubani and his executive members over alleged cases of embezzlement, the ESREWAN, in a communiqué by Chief Temple Ubani and his deputies said the allegation of disobeying the labour laws by suspending the National Secretary of the union, was baseless.

    The NUP had accused the ESREWAN president of relieving the sector National Secretary, Kayode Ogunbiyi of his post and has been personally administering the sector without a secretary.

    However, the statement said the association duly informed the NUP headquarters through series of letters of its intention to advertise the position in national dailies as the position was not an elective one, but through formal employment.

    ESREWAN recently broke away from the Electricity sector branch of the NUP.

    ESREWAN dismissed the claim that members  signed off their membership of the NUP when they decided to form a new union, pointing out that they decided long ago to pull out of the NUP as a result of persistent refusal to recognise and abide by the extant memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between them in 2006.

    The union said the decision to pull out of the NUP was taken at a special delegates’ conference in Asaba, adding that the conference resolved “that consequent upon the persistent refusal by the NUP to recognise and abide by the Extant MoU of June 2006 between NUP and their sector, we have resolved to ‘PULL OUT’ of the relationship with NUP Headquarters.

    ‘’That our sector leadership at all levels and organs as presently constituted shall continue to remain in office under the name: Electricity Sector Retirees Association of Nigeria (ESREWAN) or any other name to be approved.

    “That out association shall reserve the right to affiliate with any identified friendly organisation with similar interest and objectives for mutual benefits.

    “That the Special National Delegates Conference in session hereby totally and unequivocally reject the purported suspension of our National Sector President, Chief Temple Ubani and the National Sector Treasurer, Comrade Benjamin M. Amako.’’

  • ‘Senate lacks power to review President’s control on Custom CG appointment’

    A Benin-based legal practitioner and notary public, Gen. Idada Ikponmwen (rtd), has faulted the Senate for reviewing the Nigeria Custom Act.

    The review gave the Senate the power to approve the appointment of any future Comptroller-General of the Custom Service.

    Ikponmwen said the senators’ decision contravened Section 171 of the Nigeria Constitution, which vested the right solely on the President to approve the heads of extra-ministerial departments, which the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Custom Service falls in.

    Speaking in an interview with reporters in Benin City, Ikponmwen urged the senators to avoid undue interference into the rights of other arms of governments in the interest of the nation and adherence to the rule of separation of powers.

    His words: “Let us at this point make it clear that the positions of the head of custom by whatever names you call it happens to be relating to extra-ministerial department.

    “And the appointment to heads of extra-ministerial department under Section 171 of the Nigeria Constitution, is not one that require the approval of the Senate.

    “So, if exactly they now pass a law to say anybody that should be appointed to that position or to the board of that organisation must have their approval, it means that they are acting clearly in conflict  out of tune and at variance with the constitution, which is the supreme law and the grand norm of Nigeria.

    “The constitution in Section 171 talks about the appointment that can be made by the President of this country in his position as the head of government. He names ambassadors and those of the kinds in foreign nations. He names permanent secretaries, heads of extra-ministerial departments and personal staff of the president.

    “It is the President that nominates and appoints people into these positions. Under this same positions, it is clear that only those of the ambassadors require the approval of the Senate.

    “So, by implication, other positions named do not require senatorial approval. And that is the constitution.”

  • SOS to acting President

    SIR: I am writing on behalf of the Nigerian Presidential Scholarship (PRESSID) scholars. This scholarship scheme was inaugurated in 2012 under the past administration to sponsor Nigerian students who graduated with a First Class for their MSc and PhD degrees in any of the top 25 (later increased to top 100) universities in the world. We all came from universities all over Nigeria and beyond to write a test conducted by National Universities Commission (NUC) and the top approximately 100 qualified for the scholarship. We were tasked with getting our admission into any of the top 25 universities in the world within two years of being awarded the scholarship. We signed a bond to return to contribute acquired knowledge and expertise to the development of our beloved country Nigeria. The scholarship was meant to cover tuition fees and living expenses for the duration of our studies, and a return flight ticket. We were also split into groups with different part-funders, where some are funded by PTDF and some by TETFund.

    Since the beginning of the 2016/17 session that is now almost over, our tuition fees and living stipends have not been paid. We have tried all we can to reach out to NUC (our primary point of contact) but they have stopped replying our emails or picking our calls. Our various academic institutions have also reached out to them but all to no avail. We have written the President, the Vice President, the SSA to the President on Diaspora and Youth Affairs and the Minister of Education. We have proof of receipt of letters from all offices except the State House, as the person who received the letter from our representative said they do not stamp letters to prevent forgery. We are yet to receive any response. We have accumulated debts while trying to survive out here, and our tuition fees are long due. Our academic institutions are now threatening legal actions against us if our accumulated debts are not settled. We do not know what to do anymore.

    Speaking for myself, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to be sponsored on this prestigious scholarship scheme. I excitedly accepted the offer in 2014 and the experience has indeed been beneficial to both my personal and professional development. I am mid-way through my PhD programme and eagerly looking forward to finishing my studies so that I can return to contribute to the development of our country. Unfortunately, the current state of things threatens this reality. However, I am very optimistic that your intervention would lead to a quick resolution of this matter.

     

    • Oladayo Oladiran,

    McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

  • Macron takes over as French President

    Macron takes over as French President

    Emmanuel Macron, 39, has been inaugurated as France’s president and pledged to overcome division in societies.

    Macron, a centrist, took over on Sunday from President Francois Hollande, the socialist whose five years in power were plagued by stubborn unemployment and attacks.

    Macron – France’s youngest ever president – beat his far-right rival Marine Le Pen to the presidency, winning more than 65 per cent of the May 7 vote.

    “The whole world has watched our presidential election,” Macron said in his inaugural speech as president, which took place at the Elysee Presidential Palace.

    He added that “the world and Europe have today, more than ever, a need for France. They want a France that is sure of its destiny.

    “The world needs what French men and woman have always taught it — freedom, equality and fraternity.”

    He said France was not in decline, but at the start of an “extraordinary renaissance”, adding that he would boost employment, protect companies and engage with French people who feel ignored.

    “Republican secularism will be defended. We must find the deep meaning of what unites us today … France is only strong if it is prosperous.”

    Francois Hollande is delighted at the election of the former investment banker.

    Hollande launched Macron’s political career, and brought him from the world of investment banking to be an advisor and then his economic minister.

    “I am not handing over power to a political opponent, it’s far simpler,” Hollande said.

    Meanwhile, Macron is expected to reveal the closely-guarded name of his prime minister on Monday before flying to Berlin to meet German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

    It is virtually a rite of passage for French leaders to make their first European trip to meet the leader of the other half of the so-called “motor” of the EU.

    Pro-EU Macron wants to push for closer cooperation to help the bloc overcome the imminent departure of Britain, another of its most powerful members. (Reuters/NAN

  • Northeast should produce next president

    Northeast should produce next president

    •Lawmaker replies Doyin Okupe

    A member of the House of Representatives from Yobe State, Goni Bukar Lawan, has argued why the North West zone should not be a contender for the All Progressives Congress (APC)  ticket in case President Muhammadu Buhari refused to seek re-election in 2019.

    Lawan said the zone, going by records, has so far produced six heads of state.

    The lawmaker said the Northeast is the most eligible part of the North that should produce a presidential candidate

    He noted that while the Northeast was totally in support of Buhari because of the love and empathy he had shown to the region, “it will insist on replacing him in case he decides not to contest in 2019”.

    Lawan spoke in reaction to a statement by former presidential spokesman Dr. Doyin Okupe, who was reported by a national newspaper on Saturday, saying the Northwest, where Buhari hails from, should retain the APC ticket in 2019 in the event that the president does not seek re-election.

    Okupe added  said Buhari’s key associates from the Northwest should be considered for his replacement.

    But, Lawan, who represents Geidam, Bursari, Yunusari, Federal Constituency in Yobe State, disagreed with Okupe.

    He cited that since 1960, the Northwest has produced six Heads of State, two Vice Presidents and four Speakers of the House of Representatives, making it the highest beneficiary of top public offices in Nigeria.

    “Allowing the same zone to retain the Presidency in 2019 if Buhari does not run would amount to grave injustice to the Northeast, which is the zone in the North that has had the least shot at the Presidency and other top national offices,” he said.

    Lawan said while the Northwest has produced the highest number of top office holders, the Northcentral zone also produced three Heads of State and four Senate Presidents while the Northeast only produced a prime minister, who was not a head of state; one Vice President, one Speaker and two Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives, making it the least beneficiary of top national offices in the North.

    He said: “I believe Dr. Okupe was merely testing the waters on behalf of some aspirants from the Northwest. Our prayer is for Buhari to be healthy enough to lead us for two terms. But then, I consider it necessary to respond to Okupe so as to set the records straight.”

    Lawan added: “Unless President Buhari will seek re-election, we have had enough from Northwest, if at all we want justice. From 1960 to date, the Northwest has produced six Heads of states under the military and democratic era.

    “They have produced General Murtala Mohammed in 1975; President Shehu Shagari in 1979; General Buhari in 1983; General Sani Abacha in 1993; late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2007 and Buhari again in 2015.

    “As we know General Abacha though originally from the Northeast, grew up in Kano and adopted Kano in the Northwest as his home of origin, he regarded himself as someone from Northwest and he was even buried there in Kano.

    “The Northwest has also produced two Vice Heads of State in persons of late Shehu Yar’Adua during Obasanjo’s regime in February 1976 and Namadi Sambo under Jonathan in 2009 and 2011. From 1999 to date, the same Northwest has produced four Speakers of House of Representatives.

    “We had Salisu Buhari in 1999; Ghali Umar Na’abba in 2000; Aminu Bello Masari in 2003; and Aminu Waziri Tambuwal in 2011.

    “In case of the Northcentral, the sub-region produced General Yakubu Gowon, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Abdulsalami Abubakar. The North Central has also produced four Senate Presidents namely Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, Senator Ameh Ebute, David Mark and Abubakar Bukola Saraki.

    “The region also produced two deputy Senate Presidents, Haruna Abubakar and Ibrahim Mantu. The least patronised zone is the Northeast which produced only Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as prime minister, not a head of state.

    “The Northeast produced only a vice president, Atiku Abubakar, one Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and two Deputy Speakers, Babangida Nguroje from Taraba and Bayero Nafada from Gombe.

    “So, unless anyone is seeing those of us in the Northeast as second class northerners, there should be no contest about the entitlement of the Northeast to produce the next President, if President Buhari is not seeking re-election.”

  • Opposites face off as France elects President

    Opposites face off as France elects President

    THE final debate between the two remaining candidates in France’s presidential election took place Wednesday. The country votes today in the historic election to choose a successor to the incumbent Francois Hollande.

    The presidential election is the first in which France’s traditional parties are not represented.

    The vote could decide if France stays in the European Union.

    Observers say the vote suggests there is a high level of anti-establishment feelings among French voters.

    In the first vote on April 23, En Marche! party candidate Emmanuel Macron received 23.8 percent of the vote. National Front candidate Marine Le Pen received 21.5 percent. That was enough to send the two non-traditional candidates to the final election on May 7.

    Eleven candidates took part in the first vote. Current President Francois Hollande chose not to seek reelection because of his low popularity among voters.

    Marine Le Pen is the candidate of the very conservative National Front party. The 48-year-old candidate is currently a member of the European Parliament.

    Le Pen has called for stronger border controls and has shown opposition to immigrants and foreign cultures. She also has criticized free trade and suggested that France should leave the European Union.

    Emmanuel Macron started his own party last year. The 39-year-old served as France’s economy minister. Before that, he was an investment banker. Macron supports France’s membership in the EU and has said he is pro-business. His support is found mainly in cities.

    During Wednesday’s debate, Le Pen described Macron as weak on terrorism. Macron accused Le Pen of being a dangerous extremist.

    The candidates discussed France’s high unemployment rate. Macron called for reducing government rules on business. He also called for policies designed to help create more small and medium-sized businesses.

    Le Pen promised to tax the products of companies that outsource jobs in France to other countries.

    Terrorism was another major issue in the debate. France has had several deadly terrorist attacks in the last two years. The violence killed more than 240 people. The country remains under a state of emergency.

    Le Pen called for closing Muslim religious centers, or mosques, suspected of supporting extremism. She said she wants to expand prisons and increase border security.

    Macron called for increasing surveillance of online activity, more police officers and better sharing of intelligence.

    About 18 percent of French voters are estimated to be undecided. Wednesday’s debate was the last chance for them to decide on who to support.

    One public opinion study showed Macron with 60 percent support to Le Pen’s 40 percent.

    Le Pen’s party has long faced criticism for extreme positions on immigration and religion. Le Pen ousted her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, from the leadership of the National Front party because of his extreme positions.

    After the first vote in April, Le Pen gave up leadership of the party saying she wants to be “above partisan considerations.”

    Macron, once a member of the Socialist Party, was the economy minister in the unpopular Francois Hollande administration. But the candidate has largely escaped public frustration with that party.

    • Source: VOA
  • Domiciliary president

    Domiciliary president

    We are today at a loss to define the state of the presidency. But more worrying, we are in a fog on the state of the president’s health. Is he asleep, is someone administering an injection, what sort of chemical, blue, red, green, thick, light, aphrodisiac, soporific, analgesic? Or is he asleep buried in a soft, seductive row of pillows, or is he buried in a pile of files?

    It is now a presidency that tasks the imagination. We cannot see him. We therefore imagine him. We imagine him in his sitting room, on a sofa. Is he having breakfast, or lunch, is he able to eat like other people? Does he remember or has he obliterated “the other room?”

    Is he agile? Does he have a regime of sturdy exercises? Is he more fragile than we think, his breath raspy to the ear? Is it all just a joke? Is the president all in fine fiddle while all of us fiddle with ideas that don’t exist? Our imagination is in a state of flux. The president is giddy in our minds. He is well, standing, eating, dizzy, laughing, squinting, in pain, growling, without appetite, gormandizing, helped to stand, showering without aid. A surreal presidency that inflicts our imagination with phantasmagoria.

    It is sad that we as citizens cannot vouch for the state of the man who presides over our lives? Is he fit to decide where the army should go or whether there is an army? Is he strong enough to determine whether he is strong enough?

    All we know is that the president does not attend Federal Executive Council (FEC), does not have to see his cabinet. That means the minister of labour can do his thing and the minister of agriculture can decide to abolish the plough.

    So, we have a president who is essentially home alone, if his office will now be in glorified vacancy, the seat permitted to spin in a cobweb, if the cleaner decides to stay home like the boss. What we have is therefore the making of a domiciliary president.

    It is instructive that the president has a few images in public. The most potent we have seen of late are pious. He appeared in the last two Fridays but one. He was clad for God, erect for God, smiling with diminutive Kaduna State Governor El-Rufai for God. Of course, we see him follow the rites of worship. I was about to characterise him as His Worshipful Excellency, a homage to T. M. Aluko’s novel, His Worshipful Majesty. But last Friday, the mosque did not see his holy shadow. So, he is more domiciliary than worshipful.

    But we saw false spiritual haloes around him when Lai Mohammed alleged that he skipped the FEC meeting because of Easter. But all of us did not show any rabbinical contempt for our work. So, we looked forward to the next meeting. But, then, he was not only absent, he offered to do the domestic. He said all the files should come to his home. That’s how we know a domiciliary president.

    Many leaders want to hide their illnesses. They do so not because it humanises them. Rather it makes them less so. While the farmer sweats away over his hoe, the seamstress sows a design into life and a computer whizz-kid whirs with new software, he is frail beside a healer in white frock and stethoscope, his heart hoarse.

    Much has been said about those past leaders who hid their afflictions. George Washington with his skin problem, Woodrow Wilson’s heart problem, and the heart attacks of William Harding and Dwight Eisenhower. Reagan could not work for more than an hour a day after his near fatal wound from the assassination. FDR was always on wheelchair but no television to expose the polio-ridden, handicapped man who led the world against Hitler. Perhaps the most charismatic of the 20th century American presidents had quite of few ailments. No one knew John F. Kennedy lived with Addison’s disease. The media knew of some of these presidential weaknesses but caved in to a deeper cultural affinity with secrecy.

    But the case with President Buhari causes us to worry. He left this country on the grounds of vacation and handed over to Vice- President Yemi Osinbajo. He arrived London and a vacation became a medical test, and then medical treatments and rest. We were not treated with facts but obfuscation.

    We were getting used to his resting abroad, only to hear him clatter into Abuja in a chopper. He had come to work. We thought the rest was over, but he said it was not over. He was not going to work at the normal rate and rhythm. In a nutshell, President Buhari admits he is not well but he will not let go. So, what is the nature of this illness? We don’t know.

    We are living with a president who embraces the good of democracy but not its demands of transparency. He is a democrat when he wins election, a feudal lord when it is time to give account. It has always been the problem with our democracy. We are not ready for the challenges of an open system. We have a fraudocracy. They are not only false to us. They lie when they call themselves patriots. What is sick is not that the president is sick but that the presidency wants to conceal it.

    His wife said he was captive to a cabal of power grabbers around him. Now, he is hostage to a fragility of health. This is a new definition of presidential double jeopardy. Poor health and power grabbers holding on to a septuagenarian clutching at presidential straws. The cabal did the same during the Yar’Adua months. They held on to him until one jeopardy cancelled another jeopardy and cancelled the cabal.

    Perhaps that is why the president wants to stay at home. This cabal rejects the prospect of not having Buhari see the files. They want him there to sign the files. He probably did not do that when he was out of the loop in Nigeria House in London. They shed some tears over that.

    But how long will he conceal his condition? The United States leaders concealed before the communication age. No leader can do that now. So, it pays this country if the president either works or resigns. He cannot be at once homey and home alone.

  • Last ‘suicide’ note to the President

    By the time you will be reading this letter, we would be on our way out of Lagos for our last camp together for the greatest challenge of our lives: a suicide mission to a world record attempt.

    A group of 134 young Nigerians set to attempt one of the hardest world records ever: the longest marathon theatre performance by a team. By this, the team is expected to be on stage for 150 hours, non-stop, day and night, not sleeping, not resting, for seven days and seven nights, acting, dancing and singing. The highest that has ever been attempted was 76 hours. And they said it is suicidal to attempt 150 hours non-stop.

    Our bodies will tire out of fatigue. Our spirits will break out of sleeplessness. We were even told that we may die after the fourth day if we continue without rest and sleep. Our voices would crack from talking and singing non-stop for seven days. Our bones will hurt from acting non-stop for seven days. And we have been told that the only way out, to avoid anyone of us fainting and dying, is to quit. And that is the only thing each one of us has vowed never to do: QUIT.

    As we would raise high the Green-White-Green flag and fly it in honour and sing the country’s national anthem in pride and in respect to our fatherland, we want our President to know the few young Nigerians, who against all odds, have decided to stand in honour and put the country’s glory first before self-honour and uphold the honour and glory of the nation, Nigeria.

    We are 134. We could have chosen the gun but we chose dignity. We could have chosen fraud but we chose honour. We could have chosen the path of war and dishonour but we chose this noble hard path to honour our fatherland with the sacrifice of our courage and youthfulness.

    Exactly one year ago, over 160 of us were called from different streets, different hoods, different families and different states. We were told of the assignment before us and told of the huge responsibilities that we would be putting on our shoulders should we decide to attempt the Guinness world record challenge. We were told the glory would be for Nigeria and our names may never be mentioned nor remembered. The door was left open for anyone with a faint heart to leave. Only 134 stayed and I was picked to lead the team of the 134 young Nigerians that have chosen to put their lives at stake for a nation that may not have given them everything, but has given them hope.

    In the last one year of staying together as a team, preparing day and night for the world record challenge, we have each discovered the true essence of brotherhood and unity and realised the main reason why we were each selected from different states to discover ourselves and find a reason to stay together and battle the challenge before us as a united team, or go our separate ways and leave the task of the world record attempt undone but we chose not to be quitters.

    We fought. We argued. We settled. And we fought and argued more. Yet, not once, did we consider abandoning the common cause and challenge that brought all of us together. Soon, our differences became our strength and our strength became the united front through which today we stand together to confront the task that is ahead of us: the task of bringing the world record glory, for the longest marathon theatre performance by a team, to Nigeria.

    There were days we had enough to eat and share. There were days we had very few. And still, there were more days we had nothing. But through each day, we had abundant courage to stand together, to fight together and to confront the one enemy that stands before us: the world record challenge.

    Soon, the long wait would be over and we would say the last goodbyes to our families and friends, hold their hands one more time, feel the warmth of their embraces, touch their tears and hope in their prayers that we would return alive and trust in their kind memories of us should we never return to their embraces again.

    Soon, we would mount the world stage to face the greatest challenge of our young lives: four days of theatre performances, non-stop, day and night. In our hands would be our nation’s green-white-green flag and on our tongues would be our nation’s national anthem which we would sing in glory and honour as a reminder to all that the sacrifices and labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain.

    Soon, we would climb the world stage to attempt to set a new world record for Nigeria for the longest marathon theatre performance by a team. It is the first time ever in Nigeria that a team of young people came together of their own will, of their own desire and with their own resources, to attempt a world glory for Nigeria. It would be the first time ever that young Nigerians are putting aside their common differences and their self-interest and personal glories, to stand as a united team to win glory for Nigeria.

    We are 134 young people, and no doubt we are many, hence, our names may not be remembered, nor mentioned in articles and newspaper headlines, but one name that would be remembered, through ages and time, is the name Nigeria. And for this we are willing to die. For this we are willing to risk everything. For this we are willing to give everything for the one chance to stand in honour for this great country.

    We have done everything there is to do. Rehearsed our dances and songs and mastered our lines. We have done all required daily exercises and stayed off things that could affect our strength and stamina on the stage through the 150 hours. We have prayed, holding hands and putting all our hope on God. We have done everything required of us and though we should not be afraid, yet we are, because we do not know who amongst us will fall first, and who amongst us will stand through. We each look at each other closely everyday, afraid to take our eyes away for we are each afraid of whose face we would be seeing for the very last time.

    Dear President, we all wish we could have a handshake with you before we climb the world stage as this would be a great honour and a strong motivation for our young hearts as we dared this world record challenge, but we realise this may not be possible, so we write to seek your prayers and fatherly blessings as we stand in honour for the nation we strongly believe in.

    This we desire above all, that you pray for us, that every Nigerian pray for us, as we remind every Nigerian everywhere, that there is no greater glory and honour than standing for one’s country. And through this sacrifice, we sincerely pray that every young Nigerian will learn the honour of standing up for ones fatherland in sacrifice, in dignity, in glory.