HIS EXCELLENCY SENATOR UMAR TANKO AL-MAKURA MESSAGE ON THE OCCASION OF THE CELEBRATION OF THE 64TH ANNIVERSARY OF NIGERIA’S INDEPENDENCE AND THE 28TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CREATION OF NASARAWA STATE, LAFIA:
TUESDAY, 1ST OCTOBER, 2024.

October 1st is a day to celebrate and pay tribute to our country men and women who sacrificed so that we can celebrate this day.

Today marks yet another significant milestone in our life as a people with a common destiny.

I acknowledge with appreciation the presence of distinguished sons and daughters of Nasarawa State and all personalities who are out to celebrate this memorable event. Your presence is, indeed, an expression of your abiding faith in our collective quest for self determination and the actualization of the development agenda that our forebears set out to achieve.

I salute your sacrifice, perseverance and partnership, as well as enthusiasm over the years. I urge you to sustain this collaborative endeavor for the benefit of the good people of Nasarawa State.

My dear compatriots, let me congratulate all Nigerians on this occasion of the 64th anniversary of our nationhood. Today reminds us of the struggle of our nationalists who rose in resilience and obtained our freedom from the colonialists.

There is, no doubt that since the assumption of office of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu Nigeria has witnessed tremendous challenges in the areas of security of lives and property, especially the activities of Boko Haram terrorists, banditry as well as conflict between farmers and herdsmen. The fight against corruption as a result of the plundering of our economy by unpatriotic citizens in the recent past is yielding appreciable results. Similarly, the country is gradually regaining its image among the comity of nations as evidenced by the accolades accorded our President during international engagements. Let me also acknowledge the commitment of Mr. President aimed at taking the country out of the current economic recession. There is light at the end of the tunnel in the untiring efforts of the Federal Government.

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it would be recalled that agitation for the creation of a State out of Plateau State started in 1980 during the second republic. A Movement for the Creation of a Middle Belt State and another for the Creation of Nasarawa State with the same geo-political composition were concurrently pursued. The two agitations continued up to the demise of the 2nd Republic. In 1996, the Government of late General Sani Abacha considered the Report of the Constitutional Conference and constituted a Committee on States/Local Government creation and Boundary Adjustment. On 1st October, 1996, the Abacha administration announced the creation of Nasarawa State along with five (5) other States.

My dear good people of Nasarawa State, today marks the 28th anniversary of the creation of Nasarawa State. Let me, therefore, congratulate you all on this special day of the commemoration of the creation of our dear State. In this regard, let me pay special tribute to our founding fathers who played key roles in the struggle for the actualization of Nasarawa State. Some of these leaders have transited to the great beyond. We must, however, endeavour to cherish the contributions of these founding fathers and remember the sacrifices they have made for our sake and for the sake of generations yet unborn. Similarly, we are also grateful to God, the Almighty for sparing our lives and making us active players in the affairs of our people.

Your Excellences, Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, occasions such as this call for a reflection on our journey so far. It is pertinent to note that the desire for self-determination, economic development and social cohesion were the impetus that propelled our founding fathers to struggle for the creation of the State.

At this juncture, let me appreciate some of the contributions of my predecessors in realizing the dream of our founding fathers, particularly the effort of the first Military Administrator, Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim of blessed memory for constructing institutional structures like the Government House, first House of Assembly Complex, the Nasara Housing Estate, the first State Secretariat at Akunza, the conversion of Lafia Local Government Secretariat to Military Administrator’s Office and renovation of Shagari Low-cost Housing Estate for civil servants. At this stage

I also wish to acknowledge the contributions of Colonel Bala Mohammed Mande (Rtd) for the construction of the Deputy Governor’s Office now Office of the Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State, the conversion and upgrading of Lafia General Hospital to Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital Lafia and construction of High Court Headquarters complex. The first democratically elected Governor, His Excellency, Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Sarkin Yakin Keffi) elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999, established the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nasarawa State Polytechnic, School of Nursing and Midwifery, School of Health Technology Keffi, constructed the Factory, completed and furnished the Government House complex, constructed Presidential lodge and the 10 Units VIP Guest Houses. A bold attempt was made for hydro-electric power generation at the Farin Ruwa Waterfall but the dream was not realized due to technical and financial constraints.

On May 29th 2011, I was elected into office as Governor on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) party. It was a peaceful revolution of opportunity and hope.

We pledged then to begin anew the task of remaking Nasarawa State buoyed by the principles of transparency, accountability, probity, due process and prudent management of resources. To impart our young men and women with skills, to undertake road building inside and outside our towns, to harness the soil, the sun and our water resources, to restore education to meet the standards of our time and benefit from Information Technology. We also promised to make healthcare affordable and accessible; to foster a modern educated enterprise society.

Guided by this covenant, we hit the ground running by embarking on massive roads constructions within the major cities, rural-urban roads, as well as feeder roads across the State. We have so far constructed over three hundred (300) kilometres of asphalt-drained roads in Lafia and eleven (11) Local Government Area Headquarters which is unprecedented since the creation of the State. Work on the Keana,Garaku and Toto- Umaisha roads are commencing as contract has been awarded.

My Administration then also undertook a holistic overhaul of the education sector from the primary to the tertiary level. In this direction, we made education free for primary and post-primary students and resuscitated the school feeding programme aimed at relieving parents of such burden in the boarding schools. We constructed 44 Nos. 2 storey building Ta’al Model Primary Schools and 500 classroom blocks. We made a bold effort in providing 10 nos hostel accommodation for our tertiary institutions, improved internal roads network, ensured accreditation and enhanced the welfare of staff in our academic institutions.

In our effort to avail the physically challenged amongst us the opportunity to pursue and realize their potentials, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gallaudet University, Washington, DC. I am happy to state that this has led to the establishment of Special Schools for people living with disabilities in Lafia, Akwanga and Keffi. As I speak now, Government is furnishing and equipping the International Model Special School in Lafia.

On this note, let me once again, congratulate the good people of Nasarawa State on the celebration of Nasarawa at 28 and Nigeria at 64. I wish you a successful celebration.

Thank you and God bless.

ESV Saliu Abdullahi Osuko
(Garkuwan Giza)
Media Aide To Distinguish People’s Senator Umar Tanko Al-Makura.