We should not lose hope — Jonathan

FORMER President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has urged Nigeri-ans not to lose hope in their nation, even as he charged them to be purposeful in playing their own role towards making the country great. 

Jonathan, who stated this in his goodwill message to Nigerians as the nation marks 60th Independence today, noted that the journey of Nigeria had been that of mixed fortunes, adding that it re-quired the commitment of all citizens to build a strong and pros-perous nation.

He said: “Like many other great nations, our journey has been that of mixed fortunes. Our nation has been through periods of progress and times of setbacks.

We have experienced eras of strength, unity and faith as well as seasons of weakness, trials and despair. Despite these challenges, we have remained as one, and nurtured our democracy to 21 unbroken years.

“I therefore urge us to make investments that will shore up the democratic gains and work towards building strong and virile in-stitutions. We need to harness the greatness that lies within our diversity and the strength of our population, to recreate and build the Nigeria we desire. We must de-emphasize our fault lines and concentrate on the silver lining within our lands.”