New Deal Organization Chairman, Hon. Prince Daniel Kanu, has urged Nigerians to put aside political differences and work collectively towards addressing the country’s development challenges.
Kanu, in an Independence Day message, said it was painful to see Nigerians “playing politics with national development” instead of coming together to pursue the common interest of the country.
He identified the failure of good values and principles as fundamental to many of Nigeria’s problems, stressing that integrity, honesty, competence, accountability, compassion, empathy and respect must be deliberately promoted and practised across society. According to him, the shortage of such values has contributed to low productivity, poverty, weak institutions and other social ills.
Kanu said Nigeria’s abundant natural and human resources had not translated into commensurate development because the country’s challenges were fundamentally linked to human failure rather than a lack of resources. Quoting former United States President John F. Kennedy, he urged Nigerians to “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country,” while calling on citizens to support constitutional institutions and legitimate leadership.
The New Deal chairman said building a better Nigeria was the collective responsibility of all citizens and should not be left solely to government. “Nigeria belongs to all of us,” he said, urging Nigerians to embrace integrity, discipline, competence, compassion and patriotism, and to “put Nigeria first” in their individual and collective actions.
