Jonathan Declaration: On A Day Of Peace And Brotherhood

By Chief Bode George
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Today is a very unique day in the annals of the world. I do not say this lightly. Today is a day of peace. Today is a day of harmony. For on this very day, the Eleventh day of the Eleventh month, on the Eleventh hour in 1918 ,exactly 96 years ago, hostilities ceased across the known world.

From the Adriatic Sea to the ruins of Russia, all guns were silent, all the thunder and tremor of World War 1 were muted, frozen in a pact of peace and brotherhood.

It is only befitting that this very day which is known all over the world as the Armistice Day, the day of peace, is the one chosen by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to declare for a renewal of his mandate. Surely, this historic coincidence is beyond the banal reaches of symbolism.


There is a divine connection here. The good Lord is speaking to us all from above. God wants peace in this nation. God wants harmony among us all. Enough of the bloodshed. Enough of the venom of internecine war. Enough of the deadly grievances and the destructive conflict because only in a peaceful environment that there can be economic growth.

Let there be peace in all the corners of our land. From the swampy forest of the south to the savannah in the north, let peace and harmony reign supreme.

Those who threw bombs and killed innocent children at Potiskum yesterday do not wish our nation well.

We must come together to destroy the deadly menace of insurgency from our nation. We must shame the agents of evil.

Let us reunite and support the vision and the mission of our President. Let us stand with him in this new national enterprise of healing and mending the broken places across our nation.

Let us speak the truth to each other. Let us embrace ourselves with genuine brotherhood and friendship. Let us learn how to trust and strengthen our mutual confidence and national understanding.

We in the South West are firmly in support of the second term bid of President Jonathan. EYIN OMO ODUDUWA, SE MO WI RE BI?

His position alone as our President today attests strongly to the fact that any child from any tribe no matter how humble his origin, can aspire to rule our nation.

We in the South West uphold today the old time prophecy of our late leader Chief Obafemi Awolowo who several decades ago prophesied that an Ijaw man will rule this country some day.

We are witnesses today to the fulfillment of that prophecy. Let us now strengthen it by renewing the mandate of our President.

He has achieved so much in transforming our roads . He is presently expanding the Lagos-Ibadan arterial road to a four-lane highway on both sides. And from Ibadan to Oyo and down to Ogbomosho, he is rebuilding and widening the road , turning it into a pleasurable boulevard.

From Isagamu to Ore, from Benin to Asaba, we are witnessing far reaching transformation of our network of interstate roads. Work is equally apace on the vast channel of the East - West coastal highway. Also, the total modernization of the railway system is established in the upgrading of tracks and coaches stretching from Abuja to Lagos.

We can see the same progress in the mass rural electrification projects, in the giant strides in food production, in the widening of basic infrastructures and in the larger expanse of human development.

Of course no human being is perfect. And no government is etched in infallible portrait. While we in the South West feel much more can still be done for us , we know that the fault does not lie at the center. Mr. President has however promised to rectify the problems on the ground. We believe him. We know he is a man of his words. He is tested and trusted.

We also use this opportunity to remind him to grace the Yoruba Unity Summit which will be held at the Oduduwa hall at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife very soon.

Finally, let us consolidate on our unity. Let us strengthen the bond of our national union. Though tongue and tribe may differ, like the old national Anthem observes, it is the richness of our diversity, it is the vast heterogeneous hugeness of our national identity that makes our nation a great community.

The government of President Jonathan has no doubt raised the bar of significant economic performance to a very high level. He has jump- start the nation's financial indices to a very attractive point which is now prompting hordes of investors to come to our shores.

He is upgrading our basic infrastructures, widening economic opportunities and the pool of employment, increasing our productive capacity and putting our people back to work. He mobilized our people to defeat the deadly scourge of the Ebola epidemic, thereby making our nation a global reference point on how to stop the disease in its tracks ! What a great achievement !

My dear compatriots, leaders are made by God who alone gives power to who He wants. This wisdom is attested to both in the Holy Bible and in the Holy Quran.

Let us all be humble and respect the divine judgment. Let us all move forward in peace and harmony to rebuild our nation and reunite our people

On behalf of the good people of the south west and as the Atona of Oduduwa of the Source, I congratulate President Jonathan for listening to the over 17 million Nigerians who drafted him to come back for a second term.

May the guidance and the Blessing of God Almighty abide with him on this new journey of national renewal.

May the good Lord Bless you all.


Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George, CON
Atona Oodua of Yorubaland

Eagle Square Abuja
11thNovember, 2014

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