President GoodLuck Ebere Jonathan has said Nigeria is a country that has a special blessing from god. In Abuja at the Apostolic Faith Church, Jabi,where he had gone to worship,the president further said,he wanted Nigeria to be like the United States of America where our children can dream and aspire to greatness by merits without having to know somebody who know's somebody that can talk to somebody.He said if he who came from the smallest
state in Nigeria and the smallest community can be the President,any child can.He said : “We will try our best, but this is not the time to reel out what we are doing or what we are not doing. Otherwise, they will think I am here to campaign. But I assure you in this congregation and all Nigerians’ that by the will of God and your support, I am here today from nowhere.
“Any child of Nigeria can be where I am. I come from the smallest state in this country; even within the state, one of the smallest communities in Bayelsa State. Even within the community, I am from one of the smallest families. But I am here today (as President) by the grace of God.
“That is the type of Nigeria we want to create – a Nigeria where you can get what you want, if you work hard. It is not because you know somebody who knows somebody that will talk to somebody. We want a Nigeria where our children, if they work hard, will get whatever they want, just like in other free societies like America and so on. We will work with you to help you to get to wherever you want to go.”
The President also spoke about being frequesntly misquoted by the media.
He said: “I don’t have a formal address. It’s because, for those of us in politics, these days are not the best days to make speeches. That’s also because in any statement we make, people look at how to paint it. The next day, when you read the newspapers, you start doubting if that was what you said. So, any statement we make is always used against us.
“But I am quite pleased to be here with you today to worship with you. I love the children and your programme. I love the choir ministration. Probably, this is the first time I am worshipping with you since I came to Abuja in 2007. Probably, you would have seen me more than 10 times, if we don’t have a chapel in the Villa. So, we worship there every Sunday.
“But during the Christmas and New Year period, I like to go round and interact with other brethren. The reason is actually to thank all of you for what you have been doing for this country, for your prayers. I always say and I will continue to say it that but for your prayers, probably it would have been worse than this.
“As a nation, we have our challenges; there’s no doubt about that.
Anytime I look at the history of Nigeria and the challenges we face, and when I read parts of the old statement about when the Israelites decided to move out of Egypt to the Promised Land, we have something quite similar.
Anytime I look at the history of Nigeria and the challenges we face, and when I read parts of the old statement about when the Israelites decided to move out of Egypt to the Promised Land, we have something quite similar.
“As you are getting closer, you meet more obstacles and thank God for the sermon we heard and, of course, the songs showed that the greatest problem we have is love and unity.
“Yes, Nigeria was amalgamated by our colonial masters in 1914. By January 1, next year, Nigeria as a state will be 100 years old.”
Alluding to the divine creation of Nigeria, he said: “But I totally agree with our man of God that it was not by chance; it was ordained by God. If God didn’t want it at that point, the North and South would not have come together. The details of the North and South coming together make Nigeria a great country. I use to say that Nigeria is great not because of oil. We have countries that produce more oil than Nigeria, but nobody talks about them.
“We have countries that have multi-million dollars in reserve because of their wealth. Yet, nobody talks about them. But the biggest to the smallest country talks about Nigeria. Why? It’s because of the diversity from the North to the South, the human and natural resources, the potentials and the population that we have.
“So, Nigeria is a country that has a special blessing from God. It is left for us to appreciate God and continue to pray for God’s intervention. This country will continue to be great.
“I promise our children that we are totally committed to make sure that they meet a different Nigeria. We will collectively work hard to overcome these barriers, these feelings of ‘Oh, I am Christian, or I am a Muslim; I am Hausa or I am Ijaw.
Immediately we cross that barrier and we begin to believe that we are all Nigerians and we are committed to the development of this country, our children will surely meet a better Nigeria.” I personally think the President has achieved quite a bit during his tenure but his problem is how he relates to people.Also when he speaks he seems to underplay his achievements by making everything sound like a sermon..especially lately..some leaders dont do much but the way they articulate when they speak makes you think they have actually done more and makes you believe everything they promise to do.Goodluck Jonathan seems to lack that conviction..he doesn't have the Charisma and the charm of an Ojukwu,Gowon,Azikiwe or Awolowo...But i really think he should slow down on the pray for Nigeria bit.People do enough of that already without it being stuck down their throats.What we want to see now is positive developments so instead of praying we can be THANKFUL.