|
17th
April 2011
PRESS RELEASE
BY
PROF.IYORWUESE HAGHER
Gentlemen of the press
It is
with gratitude to God, faith in my
fatherland, confidence in the
Independent National Electoral
commission and the Nigerian people that
I am here to address to you as Nigeria’s
High Commissioner to Canada, and a
stakeholder in the political stability
of my country.
I seek
through you to congratulate the people
of Nigeria for stabilizing democracy by
conducting a presidential election that
is considered free, fair and
representing the expression of the
Nigerian public’s choice.
This
election compares favorably with global
standards. It is credible and respected.
It is the freest since the beginning of
our democratic journey fifty years ago.
The voting pattern has shown the
disturbing trend of a lingering and
festering religious and ethnic fault
line which all of us must deal with. The
political class must rise up to heal the
wounds of political divisions
immediately, as we conclude the next
phase of elections and face the task of
nation building.
I wish
to congratulate the President, Goodluck
Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, for his conduct
through out the campaign process that
has led to his victory at the polls. His
humility, good sense, amiable
comportment and decency raised the
standard of political campaign in the
country and his victory is not only that
of the PDP, but of the Nigerian people
and the political class who have come of
age even though our democracy is only
twelve years old.
I call
on Mr. President to vigorously now
pursue the task of nation building
rather than crisis management. The
spirit of African brotherhood and the
Nigerian fundamental resilience and
goodness must over take the rough edge
of victory in the western style
presidential system, where the winner
takes all and the loser gets nothing. We
must begin to fashion a better and more
inclusive democracy where the losers of
elections can retain the dignity and
grace to concede defeat. Those who voted
for other candidates are Nigerians too.
As we
proceed to the rest of the remaining
elections I call on all Nigerians to
jealously guard the electoral process
from been derailed through violence,
rigging or apathy. Let Nigeria
demonstrate to the world that ours too
is one of the world’s largest
democracies. And that it works.
I call
on the entire political class to unite
to protect our democracy by responsible
and patriotic behavior as well as
controlled utterances. Those that win
should celebrate with modesty and the
losers to graciously concede defeat
following the example of the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, Hon.
Dimeji Bankole, who showed great respect
to the electorate recently when he
conceded defeat after losing his seat in
the election last week.
Finally, I hereby call for the amendment
of the Nigerian constitution to peg the
President and Governors to a single term
tenure. This, I believe, will lessen the
bitter struggles for second terms,
reduce corruption, and stabilize equity
in rotation and zoning in political
offices across the land.
May God
bless Nigeria to rise up as a beacon of
hope, for all struggling countries of
the world.
His
Excellency Senator Prof. Iyorwuese
Hagher, Ph.D, OON
Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Canada
|
Serving
Nigerians in Canada 
Home
Help
Login
About High Commissioner
Official
Visits Gallery
Welcome to the OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER -
OFFICIAL SPEECHES BY
THE HIGH COMMISSIONER
High
Commissioner
Consular
