HAVE A HAPPY 1ST OF OCTOBER FELLOW NIGERIANS

 HAPPY 1ST OF OCTOBER FELLOW NIGERIANS

'Independence and liberty keep the soul alive.'
If it were up to me, my tag for this 57th Independence Day celebration would be, 'Love: the medicine for a strong and United Nigeria'.


It is to God's glory that we gained Political independence from the Imperial hands of the  British Colonial masters. But taking the control of our political space in 1960 also meant a resumption of duty in the succeeding task of promoting National Integration. For long,  we have consistently looked at Nigeria's issue of unity from the political angle and have addressed it with numerous applicable political measures; but have also missed out on exploring one vital aspect that relates to our general humanity.

Experiences in life have taught me that love is all it takes for humanity to bond. Without love, we can't talk about unity and progress.

We can still rewrite our constitution; but this time, not with fingers and inks. We can go on to seal every page with the symbol of love.

Think about such patriotism; so strong and rooted in love. Imagine a federal character principle established on love as its foundation; I bet, the language and religious lines would have faded away. Can anyone doubt the fact that boundaries fade away when love sets in? I think it's a universal truth. So, what stops us from adopting love as part of our political culture? Nothing!

It is time to act it and live it, we can't keep hearing it in our churches, mosques and other worship places and still keep our hearts tightly knotted. We can't be united if we don't appreciate and respect our differences. But if we can unite in our hearts through love, then the actualization of the long desired National integration shall be guaranteed.

Great Citizens of the greeny land, I urge you today to love Nigeria and to love one another. The Bible tells us to do unto others as we would like it to be done to us. Man is inherently wicked, but we fail if we allow the wickedness of others to define our own behaviour. The Bible didn't ask us to "do unto others as they have done to us." So we would continue to do good and take our reward from God not man. I wish Nigerians, Rivers people,  my Party, the All Progressives Congress and my political leader, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Happy Independence Day celebrations. God Almighty be forever glorified in our lives.


From your friend and brother,

DUMO LULU-BRIGGS

1st October 2017