Former Head of State, Abubakar Abdulsalami, has appealed to Nigerians to maintain peace and harmonious coexistence in the country, stressing that the nation cannot afford to plunge into crisis. The former Nigerian leader gave this admonition while making his remarks, at the maiden edition of the BusinessDay Excellence in Public Service Awards, organised to recognise the meritorious contributions of some serving public servants in Nigeria.
Apparently referring to the seeming interminable killings in Nigeria in recent times, Abdulsallami noted that progress in any field of Nigeria’s life would be elusive if the nation descends into crisis even as he warned Nigerians not to take peace for granted. “We take peace for granted. Since I left office, I have been involved in peacekeeping efforts all over our continent and it is very sad to see the carnage of war and civil disorder, so I want all of us to put our hands on deck to assist the government and our leaders to maintain this peace. It is necessary for all of us to regardless of our misgivings to maintain this peace, ” he said.
He lauded BusinessDay for initiating the awards and praised the awardees saying that anybody who does service to the society needs to be appreciated. He told the awardees that they are doing a thankless job but urged them to remain steadfast in their service to the nation and its people. Senate President Bukola Saraki in his goodwill message called on Nigerians to pressurize the government to develop mechanisms for monitoring the effectiveness of services delivered by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs.
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Saraki who was Represented by Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, urged service providers to be sensitive to the needs of Nigerians by providing high-quality service to them. “Sustained efforts must be made to encourage and acknowledge the efforts of the individuals that occupy bureaucratic and political positions in public service, as they carry out the day-to-day functions of the state, and act as a bridge between the government and the people.
“Nigeria can ill afford the consequences of service failure, which is why I must use this opportunity to call on all public servants to rededicate themselves to providing the basic services to which each citizen is entitled in a timely, fair, honest, effective and transparent manner. Citizens, on the other hand, must recognise the need to challenge service failure, as their civic rights as well as in the exercise of their civic responsibility.
“Nigerians themselves should be vigilant and see themselves as deserving of the very best service always,” he said. According to him, the concept of the awards is a time-tested impetus that engenders accountability, selflessness and judicious use of limited public resources in various institutions of government. Saraki commended BusinessDay for its up-to-date news and insightful analysis of business, policy and the Nigerian economy, which serves as a critical decision-making tool for investors and policymakers. While congratulating the awardees, he said the recognitions are coming at a time the country is in dire need of exemplary leaders and role models in the public service system.
The Publisher of BusinessDay, Frank Aigbogun, in his welcome address listed criteria for the award, saying that the awards were tied to “specific innovative actions taken by the individuals and organizations that they represent”
He said the awardees were painstakingly selected working with research and intelligence units which brought together the committee of eminent Nigerians that arrived at the shortlists of the awardees that were celebrated.
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“Let me put it on record, that surely you are the first in the set of our winners and recipients of BusinessDay Excellence in public service Award.
” Let me say that what makes this event different is recognizing individuals or leaders of the public service or institution is that we have attempted to tie or link the award to a specific innovative action taken by that individual or the organization that they represent. This is not just an award for general contribution, it is for a specific Work done towards the upliftment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” he said.
Aigbogun said the award also represents the “beginning of BusinessDay’s contributions to identifying and recognizing and saying thank you for the men and women with distinguished service that have contributed immensely to the development of our dear country, Nigeria”
“This is, in fact, the first initiative and commitment to our nation because today is the maiden edition of the Excellence in Public Service Award that seeks to recognize and celebrate some distinguished people in the public service, for their work for our nation”
“As a Journalist, we are by training and orientation, given to be quit so very critical that often we have so very little praise to recognize those in our midst who are doing so very well on behalf of the nation”
“We can sometimes pause to look around carefully, a semblance of oasis around us, in the midst of the same people that will deliver and have given their lives to our country Nigeria. So, ladies and gentlemen, l congratulates everyone and the awardees tonight”
He commended the former Head of State, General Abubakar for his enduring service to the people of Nigeria.
He recalled how General Abubakar very promptly handled the process leading to democratic rule in 1999, adding that ” I recall very clearly that afternoon, Gen I don’t know whether you remember during the time of vision 2010 and you were then not the Head of State and you came in to meet with Ernest Shonekan, I recalled very vividly because I was sneaked into that room your passion even then for what was perhaps the most engaging discussion that time which was “when will Nigeria return to civil rule”
Onyinye Nnwachukwu, Tony Ailemen, Kehinde Akintola, Owede Agbajileke, Innocent Odoh, Laide Akinboade-Oriere Abuja
