President of the Senate, Senator David Mark has for the umpteenth time urged Nigerians to re enact the indomitable spirit of our founding fathers who envisaged a united, peaceful and a prosperous nation in 1960 for the nation to make progress.
Senator Mark said at a special church service to mark the 52nd independence anniversary at St Mulumba’s catholic chaplaincy , Apo in Abuja today that the nation’s founding fathers craved for a country that would be economically and politically strong and a leading force in the continent.
“What went wrong along the line is akin to a deviation of the set goals because subsequent leaders did not toe the same path. It is time Nigerians both the leaders and the led must agree to reinvent the wheel and redirect our steps in the right path”, Senator Mark stated.
He situated the problems retarding our growth to the tendency to treat symptoms of the disease rather than the cause of the ailment.
Senator Mark stated that the cooperation of all is inevitable because government and the govern needs to be on the same page for progress to manifest reiterating that unity, commitment to the ideals of nationhood and love for one another are the essential ingredients for nation building.
Earlier in his homily, the priest, Rev. Father Innocent Jooji called for peace, unity, love and reconciliation between and among ethnic and religious affiliations in the country .
Father Jooji noted that Nigeria was founded on the basis of peaceful coexistence because ” our independence was unique . We got it through the unity and resolve of the people without losing lives or shedding blood.
” It is therefore ironic and shocking that most Nigerians have become hostile to each other. we must therefore go back to the good old days and learn to live together without hindrance or molestation to one another.
” We are one people under one God, we must respect the freedoms of each other including freedom of worship without fear. Even our constitution recognizes that Nigeria is a secular state where freedom of worship is upheld”.
