From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila has decried the migration of young persons to other climes, stating that the country must take urgent steps to stem the trend or be ready for the painful consequences.
He said many young persons have lost hope in the country and were leaving in droves to other climes in search of better lives.
The speaker, while stating that government, in the past four years, has made considerable investments to improve public infrastructure, said the country is still facing significant challenges.
“These challenges have caused many of our fellow citizens to wonder if the promise of democracy will ever become real in their lives. Too many of our young people have lost faith entirely and are choosing in droves to seek their fortunes and their futures in other lands. We are losing some of our best and brightest, and if we don’t act now, the consequences of this loss will shortly become painfully evident.
“How do we ensure a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides opportunities for all who work hard to succeed through their labour and ingenuity? How do we protect our people from the marauders and insurgents, the petty criminals and assorted villains who wish to harm them, whether for profit or in service of other agendas?
“How do we restore faith in our young people so that so many of them no longer feel like the only way to achieve their best aspirations is to chase their fortunes in far away, often hostile lands?
“These are the critical questions all of us in government must answer or risk the unforgiving judgment of history. “
“With each new day, we have an opportunity to make the hard choices and take the necessary actions to guarantee our nation’s future. With each new day, we have less time to act and a more outstanding obligation to act quickly.”
Furthermore, the speaker, who stated that Nigeria is an unfinished story, said the country can only achieve great successes when all citizens, irrespective of political, tribal and religious affiliations work together.
“Nigeria is an unfinished story, a long tale of promise and peril, and our final chapters have not been written yet. Some persist in believing that this grand nation is a victim of history, that our destiny has already long been written, and that we cannot escape from it. I do not subscribe to this view. In fact, I reject it entirely.
“Indeed, the world today is being remade by profound and powerful forces, and it may seem our destiny no longer lies within our control. But we are a proud and resilient people with a limitless capacity for excellence. All that we hope to be, we can. All that we desire is within reach.
“Our greatest successes as a nation will come when we work together across party lines, without considering differences of tribe and tongue, religion and creed towards the shared goals of our nationhood – peace and prosperity, equity and justice for all,” he said.
