THE Director-General of the Society Well-being Advocate of Nigeria, SWAN, Comrade Eze Onyebuchi Chukwu, has congratulated Nigerians on its occasion of the 59th Independence Day commemoration, saying there is something to benefit from one another as a single entity.
The SWAN boss, in his message on Nigeria’s 59th Independence Anniversary, said whether Nigeria is perceived as a holy or unholy union, “there is something to gain from each other,” adding that Nigerians are the cause of their own problems by promoting disunity in the country.
Calling for unity and tolerance in the country, Chukwu said outside the shores of Nigeria, everybody is addressed as a Nigerian and not by their religion, region, culture or ethnic group.
He said: “Whether it be holy or unholy union, there is something to gain from each other. There is something to learn from each other. There is something to share with one another. There is strength in togetherness. There is strength in unity.
“Whether it be North or South, there is a reason for where you come from. Whether it be Muslim, Christian or Pagan, there is a reason for where you worship, there is reason for the party you belong. There is something to gain from the other side.
“The North has something to gain from the South and the North from the South. The Bible has something to share with the Quran and the Quran the Bible. There is something to share with one another. There is something to gain from each other.
“You are a human before you become who you are. We are brothers brought together in a place called Nigeria. We are multi-talented and dimensional. We have something to share with one another. There is something to gain from each other.
“Neither the North nor the South is the problem, no religion or region is the problem but bad people in the North and in the South and in all religion and in all region. We have a common enemy and these enemies can not have us unite because our eyes will open and we will fight back. We are one people. There is something to share with one another. There is something to gain from each other.
“Your Religion is talking love, kindness and alms giving as well as mine, where is the love?, where is the kindness? Where is the alms giving? The question is not why a Christian but why not a Christian. The question is not why a Muslim but why not a Muslim. There is something to gain from the other side.
“The Quran is not an enemy of the Bible nor the Bible the Quran, why should their practitioners be?. Mohammed is not an enemy of Jesus Christ, neither is Jesus Mohammed’s, why should their followers be? What is in between us? Who is in between us? That is the enemy.
“We are our own problems, we have denied ourselves a lot in disunity. The Patriot who brought stranded Nigerians in South Africa back home said and I quote ‘A United Nigeria will be greater than Europe.’ We have denied ourselves greatness in disunity. We have slaughtered our successes on the alter of religion and region. There is something to gain from each other.
“Imagine the union of the farmers and the herders. Imagine the union of the North and the South. Imagine the union of the Christians and the Muslims. Imagine the union of your area of strength and my area of strength. Remember, outside Nigeria, nobody knows your region or religion but identifies you with Nigeria. There is something to share together. There is something to gain from each other.
“We have been busy fighting each other while our common problems grow fatter. It’s time to stop fighting ourselves, it’s time to join hands and fight our common enemies. It’s time to fight corruption, unemployment, impunity among leaders and make a better future for our future Nigeria. There is something to gain from each other, look well and see that we are not all that bad. We have something in common. We have something to share. We have something to gain from one another.”
Chukwu noted that at 59, Nigeria ought to have developed, improved and be able to solve its own problems without inviting the international community.
According to him: “At 59 we should be old enough to be truly independent and not depending on any nation for survival. At 59 we should be mature enough to settle our issues internally and not running to other nations. At 59 we should man enough to take care of our citizens well being. At 59 we should strong enough to protect the life and property of our people. At 59 we should be wise enough to obey the law especially court orders. At 59 we should be able to practice true democracy to show difference compared to colonial rule. At 59 we should have used to each other’s culture, tradition, religion and not discrimination. At 59 we should be talking about modern technologies and not battling with basic amenities for our people. At 59 we are not supposed to be battling with corruption. At 59 we are old enough to be self sufficient.
“It’s time to go back to the drawing board, it’s time to reflect, it’s to ask and questions. Is it that we don’t have the capacity or that the capacity is not being used. Our government and it’s official must return patriotic. THIS IS NO TIME FOR MORE COMPLAINS, ITS TIME WALK THE TALK.
“Happy 59th Independence day celebration Nigeria. Happy Independence SWANites.”
