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'Realising Common Goals'
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Speech Of His Excellency, Alhaji (Dr.) Abdullahi Adamu (Sarkin Yakin Keffi), Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, on the Occasion of the Commissioning of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund Housing Project at Mararaban-Gurku, Karu Local Government Area by His Excellency, President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, Monday, 21st February 2005.
The Government and people of Nasarawa State are always delighted having the honour of receiving Mr. President in their midst. For us, Mr. President, your visits are always a home coming as we see you as one of us. Thank you Mr. President for giving us the privilege of your presence and that of members of your entourage.
Your visit this time is in respect of the commissioning of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund Housing Project at Mararaban-Gurku. The people of Nasarawa state are delighted that our state was chosen for this worthwhile project. Shelter, aside from food, is a most basic need of the human being. Shelter touches the very fabric of human existence. We salute Your Excellency's administration for this demonstration of an abiding commitment to the comfort and welfare of Nigerians by the provision of such basic needs as shelter.
Your Excellency, distinguished guests, there is no doubt that housing constitutes one of the greatest challenges facing Nigerians today. With a population of about 150 million, thousands of Nigerians are looking forward to a programme that will enable them to own their houses at affordable rates. Being a very responsive President, we are not surprised Mr. President, that you are putting back on track a programme that will bring succour to many Nigerian families. The antecedents of Mr. President in project conception and implementation are so strong that we are sure that this particular programme will be a resounding success.
Mr. President, distinguished guests, Karu has been recognized by the United Nations and the World Bank as one the fastest growing settlements in the world today. Present statistics put the growth rate at about 40 percent annually. As a satellite settlement of the Federal Capital Territory, it accommodates a huge percentage of the civil servants that work in the FCT, as well as private businessmen and women who daily go into the FCT to work and conduct their various legitimate businesses. This huge concentration of the FCT population in our state poses a lot of challenges for us in terms of provision of basic facilities like housing, water and roads. While we shall do everything possible to live up to our responsibilities in facing the challenges posed by this situation, we wish to call on the federal government to endeavour to revisit the enabling law/decree that established the Federal Capital Territory. In the law, is the provision of a shared responsibility for the buffer zones between the FCT and neigbouring states - particularly in the area of infrastructure development.
Informed by the dire need to tackle the multi-faceted problems of infrastructure development in Karu area, the Nasarawa State Government deliberately established the Greater Karu Area Planning and Development Authority (KAPDA). The Authority is mandated to supervise the orderly and structured development of the Greater Karu Area. I am happy to say that the Authority is working relentlessly to give meaning and shape to Karu and its environs. KAPDA has been directed to collaborate with the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund towards consolidating the achievement of an orderly development in the neigbourhood in order to realise common goals.
With the rapid urbanization of Karu area and our commitment to the welfare of residents of the area, we completed the Mararaban Specialist hospital, the Karu International market, an international model secondary school, a high court and magistrate courts. Furthermore, a golf course, a race course and a cultural centre are being constructed at Mararaban Gurku to boost recreation.
Also, as part of the Greater Karu Urban Development Plan, the World Bank has embarked on an urban renewal project in the area. The package includes the provision of a water supply network, environmental renewal and road construction. We are committed to counter-part funding of the project. We hope that by the time these projects are completed, many of the current problems will be greatly minimized.
Mr. President Sir, the people of Nasarawa state usually view every opportunity of your presence in our midst as a privilege to comment on one or two national issues. We want to use the opportunity of this visit to register our absolute support for Mr. President's programme on national dialogue as represented by the National conference which you inaugurated this morning. Those who are conversant with current affairs in our nation's polity will recall that the agitation for national dialogue has occupied our national discourse for sometime now. Mr. President, you have once again proved that you are a listening father of the nation by accepting to have the conference. Since announcing that the conference will hold, our national media has been awash with varying opinions about the conception and structure of the conference. This is democratic noise and it is good for democratic growth. Individuals and groups have a right to express their views about issues and policies that affect them. Our surprise however lies in the fact that those who over the years were the chief proponents of a national conference are now the loudest critics of Mr. President's acceptance to hold a national dialogue. What an irony! These critics have even gone as far as to accuse Mr. President of having a "hidden agenda" for the conference. Instead of accepting to serve in the conference and be in a position to unveil Mr. President's so-called "hidden agenda", they have decided not to participate in the conference. They are contemplating organizing a parallel conference. Indeed some of these people are still calling for a sovereign national conference. We are perturbed that such a call could be made when we have a sitting legislature/parliament. We call on these fellow countrymen and women to sheath their sword and give our national conference a chance to succeed by ensuring that we have an enabling political environment. Let them read the simple message Nigerians from all geographical areas of the country are sending. In every democratic polity, the minority may have their say, but at the end of the day, the majority shall have their way. Mr. President, you are with the majority and the national conference clearly have divine acceptance. We congratulate you and the nation.
Mr. President, the people of Nasarawa state perceive the national conference as a great opportunity to jaw-jaw on many of the challenges that have faced the Nigerian state since independence. We have never had such a golden opportunity to bring our national challenges to the front burner. Our people stand shoulder to shoulder with you in the organization of this conference and we are determined to do everything humanly possible to ensure its success.
In conclusion, we wish to register the appreciation of the Nasarawa state government and people to the management of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund for the foresight exhibited in citing this housing project in our state. The completion of the project within twenty-four months of its commencement is a clear testimony of the Trust Fund's excellent management skills and a departure from the norm where government parastatals embark on projects and fail to complete them. We assure the management of the NSITF of our continued partnership in housing development in the state. We also assure other private property developers around the country of our readiness to allocate land on concessionary terms for housing development in order to decongest the population of the main capital city, Abuja.
I wish to once again thank Mr. President for being here to perform this historic function. I also express our gratitude to the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund and the Ministry of Labour and Productivity for putting smiles on the faces of the families who will benefit from this laudable project.
Thank you and may God continue to bless our efforts.
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