The Federal Government of Nigeria has declared Monday as a public holiday to mark the nation’s 62nd independence anniversary celebration
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, read:
“The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, congratulates all Nigerians on this year’s celebration and assures of government’s commitment to tackling all the challenges facing the nation and bring smiles to the faces of all the people.”
Aregbesola was quoted to have said:
“The world is going through dire economic and security challenges which have also affected our nation. However, I am assuring us all that the government will not abandon the people, but will continue to confront all these challenges with all the might at our disposal until respite comes our way.
“Our warmth, welcoming spirit and love as well as our unbounded human capital and the richness of our land, make Nigeria unarguably the leading black nation in the world and Africa’s pride and beacon of hope. If we can rally ourselves together to harness our potentials, we shall be the greatest nation on the earth.
“A country of over 200 million people whose natural talents, grit and passion glitter like the precious diamond that we are; Nigerians are sparkling like diamonds in the pack, whether in the academia, science and technology, business, innovation, music, entertainment, fashion or culture.”
The Minister advised Nigerians to use the occasion of the celebration to reflect on the challenges facing the nation and the role individuals can play in addressing them. He urges Nigerians to work hard, shun any attraction to get rich through criminal and other immoral means, saying only through productivity can an individual and the nation create wealth and get rich.
The Minister added that Nigerians should shun violence of any kind and be security conscious, asking them to report any suspicious persons or activities to the nearest security agency and through the N-Alert application on Android and IOS, saying “when you see something do N-Alert for prompt response from security agents.
