As Nigeria marked her 59th Independence Anniversary Tuesday, the Ogun state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has expressed worry over the rate at which Nigerians travel abroad in search of greener pastures.
The governor in his speech at the 59th Independence Day anniversary ceremony organised by the state government and held at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, lamented that Nigeria was losing her best brains to other developed countries of the world.
He said, “At 59, our dear country still has much work to do. We must remain patriotic. We must put our nation first. It is worrisome that our people are migrating to other countries for greener pastures.
“While some of our current national challenges may make it tempting to seek fortunes outside our shores, we must also realise that these countries were once in our position with different challenges. And indeed, more often than not, the greener pasture is a mirage,” Abiodun stated.
He charged Nigerians, especially the youth, to be more patriotic and contribute their quotas to the development of the country instead of seeking greener pastures, which he described as ‘a mirage’.
“We must not run away but stay and solve our problems together. I therefore use this medium to encourage our people to come together as one and face our challenges for the greater good of our Nation. If we do this, our great Nation will be better.
“We must realise that we are Nigerians before any other affiliation. Because of this, we should have the love of this country. Whatever responsibilities that we are entrusted with, we should discharge them with commitment. It is worrisome that our people are migrating to other countries for greener pastures.
“Our 59 years of political independence as a nation has not been all that glowing. Our dear country survived three traumatic years of the Civil War from 1967-1970; we had our civil liberties curtailed under different military juntas. We also experienced the 1993 political impasse which was close to a national crisis, but we survived it.
“Our experiences have taught us resilience; we have weathered together a lot of storm as a nation and people, and we have come out stronger. It is a testament to our resilience that we are still standing as a country. Since 1999, we have continued to have civilian to civilian transition with each succeeding cycle better than the preceding one. And for this reason, we have cause to celebrate and thank God for keeping us together as a united nation whose diversity remains the tower of her strength,” he said.
