The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has expressed optimism in the potentials of Nigeria’s young population to correct the mistakes of the past and make Nigeria better than it is today.
Speaker Abbas stated this during a media chat with Nigerian Tribune and Parliamentary correspondents on Tuesday after the Townhall meeting with Students drawn from both Public Secondary Schools across the six Area Councils of Abuja in commemoration of Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day Anniversary and his 59th birthday celebration held at the National Assembly complex, Abuja.
The Speaker who is expected to hold special session with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Abuja, underscored the need to have sober reflection on the country’s history.
He said, “I don’t look at the celebration of Nigeria’s independence as just symbolic, just singing songs, watching parades, and believing that it is all that we need.
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“The Independence Day calls for sober reflection of our history and where we are coming from, where we are and where we intend to.
“The invitation of the children to come to the National Assembly is one way of saying that they are the future of Nigeria.
“Nigeria has spent 64 years so far, but we have a young population that can be encouraged to correct the mistakes of the past and make Nigeria better than it is today.
“That is the reason why we on this very very important day, decided that children should be involved and invited so that we can sit down with them and guide them, counsel them and tell them what they need to do; to correct our own mistakes of our own generation and the generation that came after us.
“So that we will have a better Nigeria tomorrow.”
On the impression of the Students that he interacted with, Abbas said, “it is wonderful. Very very disciplined children, very very ambitious children, very intelligent children.
“I don’t think Nigeria request any better with the kind of children I see today, I know the future of Nigeria is secured.
“These children will be ready of they are given the proper guidance and guidance and counseling for them to be able to take Nigeria to a much much higher level.”
Speaking on his impression of evolution of Parliament in Nigeria, then and now, he added, “you can see because our democracy is getting more and more matured.
“People that elect us are putting more pressure upon us, making us more accountable for what we do and asking us to give them more than others gave them in the past.
“And part of the reasons why in the House we decided to create an Open Parliament is to enable better interaction between the National Assembly and the Electorates.
“So, this is part of our Citizens’ engagement to enable us here to stand for the people we are representing.”
