Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has said at 59 Nigeria has not failed contrary to opinions expressed in some quarters.
Governor Ayade made this declaration while fielding questions from State House Correspondents, in Abuja, after a closed-door meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, at the weekend.
The governor also said a country that could communicate via mobile telephone, at 59, could not be described as a failure.
According to him, “Nigeria has made progress; we must not only look at where we have failed; as a nation, we have made progress at 59. America is over 250 years; Britain is over 250 years; we are just 59. At 59, we have GSM; at 59, we have better communication, at 59, we have medical services.
“As a nation, we may be not be we are; but for life, for the unity; there is a reason for us to say let’s celebrate; it is not always right to look at the negative aspects alone; yes, there is room for improvement; yes, we might not have done as well but as the leader of black people, the whole world looks unto Nigeria but we must only come together to make the progress we so desire.
“So, I believe that as we turn into the ceremonial 60 that is coming, we need to swagger, roll out our drums and have positive comments; healthy discussions, use the social media for positive intent just to bring value.”
Ayade added, “I just want to tell Nigerians that they should share from the extrapolated sociological philosophy of Albeit Einstein, the theory of relativity—that when you are in the same coordinate with an object in motion, your velocity turns to zero; when you sit in an aircraft moving at 800km per hour, for you sitting on the aircraft, your velocity is zero because you are stationary but indeed you are moving at 800km per hour.”
On why he was at the presidential Villa, Governor Ayade said: “I am the Governor of Cross River State and as a sub-national, from time to time, you must indeed come to the Villa to consult. That is the way to go and that’s why I am here.
“Basically, it is about governance; it is about Cross River State; it is about our projects, the Bakassi Deep Sea Port and of course, the Super Highway.”
