Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has urged fathers in the country to believe in themselves, their children and the country.
Abubakar, who was the Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party in 2019 presidential election, gave the advice in a statement issued by his Media Aide, Paul Ibe, on Sunday in Abuja, to mark the 2019 Father’s Day .
He said the greatest gift parents could give their children was to believe in them.
He said: “And so, today, I am asking you to believe in Nigeria, to believe in yourselves and to believe in your children.
“And finally, to believe that our founding Father’s vision for Nigeria will come to pass by God’s grace, through our hard work.”
Abubakar, while commending every father in the armed forces, police and paramilitary forces, urged Nigerians to remember fathers, who were on the frontlines.
He said: “I urge you to take a minute to acknowledge fathers, who have left their wives, children and loved ones, to take up residency in bushes, highways and byways in order to fight terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other threats to our nation.”
He remembered Nigeria’s founding fathers, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Nnamdi Azikiwe saying their love for the country was exemplary.
He said: “May the labours of these our heroes past remind us that this nation was built on a quartet of Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress, founded on Justice.”
The former vice president prayed that their labour and the labour of all fathers in Nigeria would never be in vain and that God’s blessings be on the nation and the children they birthed.
He added: “May extreme poverty depart our land and in the words of the late great Chief MKO Abiola, may we soon bid “farewell to poverty” as a nation.”
