 |
| President Muhammadu Buhari |
President Muhammadu
Buhari on Tuesday urged Nigerian youth to remain focused in life, pursue their
dreams and reject those fanning embers of discord and disintegration of
Nigeria.
News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report continues:
Mr.
Buhari made the call when he received more than 100 National Youth Service
Corps (NYSC) members serving in Daura Local Government Area of Katsina.
The
president, who received the Corp members at his residence in Daura, urged them
to make Nigeria great again through pursuit of knowledge, patriotism and
commitment to values that promote national unity.
He
pledged his commitment to the unity and prosperity of Nigeria.
President
Buhari specially recognized corps members from the Niger Delta and
South-Eastern states serving in Daura, and praised the former military ruler,
Yakubu Gowon, for setting up the scheme in 1973.
According
to him, the scheme has creditably promoted national unity and cohesion by
exposing young people to the uniqueness and cultural diversity of Nigeria.
“I
asked for those from the other extreme of Nigeria because I very much
appreciate the NYSC scheme and whenever I see General Gowon, I always thank him
for that,” the president said according to a statement by his spokesperson,
Garba Shehu.
Speaking
specifically to corps members from the South Eastern states, the president
said: “tell your colleagues who want Biafra to forget about it”.
“As a military commander, I walked from Degem,
a border town between the north and the east to the border between Cameroon and
Nigeria.
“I
walked on my foot for most of the 30 months that we fought the Nigeria-Biafra
civil war in which at least 2 million Nigerians were killed.
“We
were made by our leaders to go and fight Biafra not because of money or oil,
because oil was not critical factor then, but because of one Nigeria.
“So
if leaderships at various levels failed, it was not the fault of the rest of
Nigerians who have no quarrel with one another.
“So,
please tell your colleagues that we must be together to build this country. It
is big enough for us and potentially big enough in terms of resources.
“Those
who work hard will earn a respectable living. I have seen this country, I
fought for this country and I will continue to work for the unity of this
country,” the president said.
In
his remarks, Egbewumi Adebolu, the Corps Liaison Officer in Daura, thanked the
president for the honour of receiving them and making their stay in Daura
memorable.
He
said the youth strongly believed in the programmes of the president to reduce
unemployment and create jobs for more Nigerians.
Mr. Adebolu thanked the president for his personal gifts of cows, bags of rice and cash to corps members in the community for Sallah celebration.
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