Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur,
has admonished younger politicians in the
country to accord respect to older
counterparts and not write them off.
Tukur in a message to mark his 78th birthday,
underscored the need for older and younger
politicians to work together adding that it
would facilitate cross-fertilization of ideas
and frank exchange of view on how to move the
country forward.
He urged support for President Goodluck
Jonathan's development strides and further
appealed for peace and calm in the country in
order to achieve the desired progress.
His message read thus "There is a time under
the sun for everything. There is a time for
sober reflection, a time to bless, a time to
make peace, a time to offer wise counsel, time
to mend ways and fences and a time to reflect
on what the future holds in stock for our
beloved Nation, Nigeria.
There is indeed a time and season for
everything.
"I want to thank God immensely for His gift of
life to me these past years as l clocked 78
years few days ago. Certainly it is not by
power or might or by self-effort. It is by the
sheer grace of God for which I remain
eternally grateful, humbled and challenged to
make Nigeria a better place than I met it.
"My birthday gift to my beloved country
Nigeria is a prayer that Nigeria will be
great, strong, prosperous and a veritable
giant in the comity of Nations the world over.
"I implore all Nigerians to give their maximum
support to the President and Commander-in-
Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Dr.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as he drives the
Transformation Agenda of the Federal
Government with the clear vision, mission and
objective of wholistically transforming the
entire Nigerian social, economic, political
and infrastructural landscape in order to make
life more abundant and more meaningful for the
Nigerian people.
"I give our dear President and his team a pat
on the back for the wonderful work they are
doing towards the provision of democratic
dividends to all Nigerians and the
actualization of the manifesto of the Peoples
Democratic Party.
"Similarly, I salute all the Governors from
the states controlled by the PDP and indeed
all elected or appointed office-holders of PDP
extraction for the great job they are doing in
their various offices. I encourage them not to
flag or fail but to continue to serve the good
people of Nigeria with the strength of a lion,
the dedication of a monk and the wisdom of
Solomon.
"I urge politicians across the country to view
politics as an avenue and opportunity to offer
selfless and meaningful services to our
people. All politicians must behave
responsibly and be discreet in their words and
actions so as not to overheat the polity.
Politics is a noble process and it is nobler
when politicians play the game in line with
the rules, the various Party Constitutions and
of course, the supreme law, which is the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
"Discipline is a sine qua non to Party
politics. Any organization which lacks the
capacity or the moral authority to instill
discipline in its members is doomed. The need
for politicians to be disciplined cannot be
overemphasized. We cannot expect Nigerians to
entrust their destiny into the hands of
politicians if the politicians do not believe
themselves.
Like Caesar's wife, a politician must be above
board in all ramifications.
"I have benefited tremendously from the
Nigerian society. At my age, I feel obliged at
this point to give back to the society the
benefit of my experience. Experience, they
say, is the best teacher and experience is a
commodity of inherently high value. Experience
counts. I want to appeal to younger
politicians to show deserved respect to their
senior compatriots.
We, the older politicians, should not be
written off yet or regarded as spent political
forces. We are still relevant to the Nation
and the younger politicians will benefit
greatly from our experience, wise counsel,
guidance and discipline.
"Our dear Country will progress more rapidly
with the right blend of old and young
politicians. This will facilitate cross-
fertilization of ideas and frank exchange of
view on how to move the country forward. No
young generation which treats her old and
experienced statesmen without respect and
decorum ever succeeds.
"I preach peace to all politicians and
Nigerians alike. Peace is invaluable. It is
the minimum condition for development. It is
the foundation for friendly and mutual
concourse. It is perhaps the most important
element requisite for meaningful and
sustainable progress of any nation. Nigerians
should eschew violence, terrorism, brigandage
and lawlessness. Politicians should embrace
peace so that we will all enjoy the dividends
of our democracy in full.
"I also call for unity in Nigeria. We can
achieve nothing in an atmosphere of disunity.
United we stand, but divided we fall.
"Finally, I pray for a peaceful, united and
prosperous Nigeria. I call on all leaders in
Nigeria to think more about the Country than
themselves. We owe our Nation a duty to make
her peaceful. Afterall, we have no other
home.
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