Dear Compatriots,
I greet and felicitate with you
all once again as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christ.I join all of our Christian compatriots in giving thanks to God Almighty
for the divine gift of Jesus Christ the Messiah whose earthly incarnation we commemorate
today.
As we celebrate the birth of
Jesus Christ who the Prophet Isaiah heralded as the Prince of Peace and
Wonderful Counselor, I believe it is very appropriate that we all, Christians
and non-Christians alike, reflect more deeply on the virtues and ideals which
the Messiah espoused during his earthly mission...
To my mind, there can be no doubt
that the greater internalization of the virtues of love for our fellowmen,
tolerance, Godliness, honesty, fairness to others, selflessness, and peaceful
co-existence with others, by all adult Nigerians, and the inculcation of the
same in our youth, will definitely help our dear nation to overcome most of its
present challenges.
Peace and love for others,
especially, were a constant refrain in the Messiah’s teachings and admonitions
to mankind.
Therefore, as we celebrate his
birth, I urge all Nigerians to offer special prayers for a greater
manifestation of divine peace in our country and the vanquishing of all demons
of hatred, divisiveness and disunity in our midst.
As we celebrate Christmas, let us
also remember and offer special prayers for all of our countrymen, women and
children who have suffered and continue to suffer untold hardship, deprivation
and death at the hands of terrorists and insurgents.
Let us also continue to pray for
our gallant soldiers and security agents who remain at the forefront of the
national effort to overcome terrorism and violent extremism, even as the rest
of the nation celebrates Christmas and the coming New Year.
In this season of goodwill, I
urge all patriotic Nigerians to rededicate themselves to doing all within their
powers to support the brave men and women of our armed forces in the ongoing
war against terrorism, and also support the Federal Government’s efforts to
provide more succour to the hapless victims of terrorist atrocities.
The Victims’ Support Fund which
we have established to raise additional funds to assist our compatriots who
have been adversely affected by continuing insecurity in parts of our country
remains active.
I call on all individuals and
corporate organisations who have not yet done so, to donate more generously to
the Fund which is being efficaciously deployed to ease the sufferings of
victims of terrorist violence in the country.
Dear Compatriots, we are also
celebrating this Christmas against the background of preparations for next
year’s general elections.
I seize this opportunity to
reassure the nation that my administration will give the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) all necessary support to ensure that it delivers
very free, fair, credible and acceptable elections in 2015.
National security agencies will
also be given all necessary support to enhance their ability to ensure that the
elections which should strengthen democracy in our country are peaceful and
violence free.
I urge our political class to be
law- abiding and place the greater interests of our nation above all personal
or sectional interests in the countdown to the elections.
Let us all be more
statesman-like, conduct issues-based campaigns, and eschew the promotion of falsehood,
division and hatred of others as we seek the votes of our countrymen in what
should be a peaceful competition among contending points of view for the
progress and development of our dear nation.
I remain convinced that God
Almighty is still with us as a nation even in the midst of our current
challenges which we shall surely overcome with greater unity of purpose,
dedication, commitment and perseverance.
Let this year’s celebration of
the birth of Christ the Messiah rekindle, strengthen and reaffirm our faith in
our national ability to overcome all challenges, with God on our side.
I wish you all very happy
Christmas celebrations.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR
President,
Federal Republic of Nigeria
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