NIGERIA @ 60: REKINDLING HOPE AND CHANGING OUR NARRATIVES

NIGERIA @ 60: REKINDLING HOPE AND CHANGING OUR NARRATIVES

By the 1st of October this year, our compatriots will be celebrating 60 years of our nationhood. Indeed, we’ve come a long way together and this period offers us an opportunity to reflect on the journey so far -- the challenges that we have faced (and are still facing) and the opportunities that stare us in the face. In all of these, we will be presented with choices -- to start a pity-party about our socio-political challenges (which everyone already knows), to weep over all of our missed opportunities. Or we will be presented with the choice of re-writing the wrongs and weaving together a future that posterity will be grateful for; a future that we will be a part of as much as the kind that is solid enough to support the dreams of the next generation.

It has been said that great men plant trees whose shade they know that they wouldn’t seat under and as we may have heard the saying that, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago (or even 60, as in our case), but the next best time is now.

We will need to get our acts together and join the league of nations who are on the forward march. That’s what we deserve.

"We will roll our sleeves and build together -- leaders and citizens alike. We will use all of the tools of developments that we can muster and leverage technology to leap-frog in our forward march.


Commenting on the mandate of the That’s what we stand for and our message at the Unveiling and Rebranding Initiative (URNI). We will be doing our part to mobilize a mass of change agents and leveraging on the scaling effect of technology to push for a positive renaissance in our nationhood. We will tell our story in a way that fosters hope and emphasizes the positives and hopefully create a new narrative that will contribute towards making our nation a desirable one to live in. We have lined up a number of activities and events leading up to our silver jubilee celebrations in October. These activities and programmes will precede the launch of the Unveiling & Rebranding Initiative billed for the 3rd of October 2020 in Abuja Nigeria.

As we understand that the process of change is not a walk in the park, our strategy will entail a 10-year development plan encapsulated as the URNI Vision 2030 which will also be unveiled at this epoch-making event.

Worthy of mention is that this initiative is promoted by a team of active citizens from different walks of life and championed by some distinguished Nigerians among whom is Amb. Hassan Tukur, OFR, who has served the country in different capacities over the last 4 decades. There will be several engagements monthly leading up to October this year, some of which include: roadshows, campus tour, community engagements and town hall meetings, the making of the book -- faces of patriotism, football competition/unity league et cetera.

It’s also our belief that all hands must be on deck for the work of nation-building to succeed and therefore, we would be calling on all stakeholders to come together, irrespective of tribal, religious, or political affiliations to make our nation work, even at this auspicious moment. Towards the launch of the URNI Vision 2030, we are making a clarion call for collaborators, partners, sponsors, and volunteers towards making this programme and vision a success.

More information can be found on our website: Http and do keep an eye on our social media platforms to stay informed of our activities.

I am Nigeria. You are Nigeria. We are Nigeria. Nigeria needs us!

Signed:
Hassan Ardo Tukur.
Chairman, Board of Trustees,
Unveiling & Rebranding Nigeria Initiative.