05/05/2026
“No matter what obstacles confront us, I have confidence and faith in our ability to overcome them. After all, we are Nigerians. We are a resourceful and enterprising people, and we have it within us to make our country a better place.
Let us stop justifying every shortcoming with that unacceptable phrase, the Nigerian Factor, as though to be Nigerian is to settle for less. Let us recapture the spirit of optimism that once defined us… that can-do strength that marked our Nigerianess. We have the talent. We have the intelligence. We have the ability.
I ask you, fellow citizens, to join me in rebuilding our Nigerian family, one that defines the success of one by the happiness of many. I ask you to set aside negative attitudes and concentrate all our energies on getting to our common destination. All hands must be on deck.”
Sixteen years since he passed, those words still carry weight.
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua spoke them in 2007, at his swearing-in, with quiet conviction, moral clarity, and a rare sense of responsibility to both country and citizen. He believed leadership was service, humility was strength, and nation-building required honesty, discipline, and collective sacrifice.
He asked us to reject cynicism, abandon the excuse of “the Nigerian factor,” and believe again in the possibility of a better nation..one built not on noise, but on duty.
May his soul continue to rest in perfect peace. Ameen🤲🏾
~ Queen Saphy GSFR
