President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has charged Nigerians to continue to keep the fire of democracy burning and keep the torch lit for generations to come.
Doing so, he said, would move Nigeria forward.
The president made the call on Wednesday in his nationwide broadcast on the occasion of this year’s Democracy Day and the 25th anniversary of the day in Nigeria.
He stressed that 25 years ago, Nigeria made the right choice of a democratic nation and must continue with that choice now as it is the best form of governance.
“As Nigerians, we must remind ourselves that no matter how complicated democracy may be, it is the best form of governance in the long run,” he said.
Emphasising the need to guard the nation’s democracy jealously, the president warned that there were some who were bent on exploiting the current challenges facing the nation to destroy its democracy.
His words: “We must also be aware that there are those among us who will try to exploit current challenges to undermine, if not destroy, this democracy for which so much has already been given.
“These people do this not to make things better but to subject all other people and things to their control and dominance until the point that, if you are not counted among their elite, then your life will be small and no longer owned by you.
“This is the great battle of our day and the major reason we specially celebrate this Democracy day.”
He declared that “our Democracy is more than a historic fact. It is a living, breathing reality.”
The president vowed that he was morally and constitutionally bound to preserve the nation’s democracy.
Said he: “I vow to do my utmost best to protect your rights, freedoms, and liberties as citizens of Nigeria.
“Even more than that, I pledge to do whatever is necessary to cement democracy as our way of life.
“Although the challenges are steep and multiple, I am grateful to lead Nigeria at this moment in her history and point in her democratic journey.
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“I come before you also to declare that our most important work remains before us. This real test has never been whether we would rise to challenge the slings of misfortune and grievous pain of dictatorship.
“The real test is whether we shall lower our guards as the shadow of despotism and its evident physical danger fade.”
President Tinubu said as the nation celebrated the enshrinement of political democracy, Nigerians should commit themselves to the fulfilment of the realisation of economic democracy.
Said he: “I understand the economic difficulties we face as a nation.
“Our economy has been in desperate need of reform for decades. It has been unbalanced because it was built on the flawed foundation of over-reliance on revenues from the exploitation of oil.
“The reforms we have initiated are intended to create a stronger, better foundation for future growth. There is no doubt the reforms have occasioned hardship. Yet, they are necessary repairs required to fix the economy over the long run so that everyone has access to economic opportunity, fair pay and compensation for his endeavour and labour.
“As we continue to reform the economy, I shall always listen to the people and will never turn my back on you.”
He said in that spirit, his government had negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organized labour on a new national minimum wage.
“We shall soon send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of our law for the next five years or less.”
President Tinubu said the rays of a brighter tomorrow had started showing, as he assured that “an abundant future and our capacity to achieve that future lie within our reach.”
“Let us board this progressive train together. Together, let us move Nigeria forward,” he charged Nigerians.
