Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar has challenged Nigerians to remain steadfast in their resolve to see the desired change Nigeria needs while urging them not to despair or lose hope because of the current challenges facing the country.
This was contained In a New Year message to Nigerians released by his media office in Abuja, on Tuesday.
Atiku said the beauty of democracy offers Nigerians the opportunity to use the power of their votes to bring about the desired change while reminding political leaders that the success of democracy was determined by how much the life of the people had improved, and not how much fortunes leaders had made for themselves.
According to the former vice-president, “while poverty is accelerating like hurricane in the land,” elected leaders are living opulent lifestyles inconsistent with the hardships of the ordinary voters.
Atiku explained that democracy was as good as those who practiced it, adding that elective offices should be perceived as an opportunity to offer selfless service rather than personal enrichment.
However, he noted that, once democracy was made to work as it should, there would be no excuses for the current level of poverty in the country.
On deepening democracy, he urged all political leaders to embrace the spirit of tolerance, adding that people should not become enemies because of political differences.
He urged Nigerians to see the New Year with renewed optimism, and be active participants in the struggle to bring about change by democratic means.
Atiku urged them to register massively and collect their permanent voter cards so that they could vote for parties and candidates of their choice.
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