President Umaru Yar’Adua Photo: Sun News Publishing

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President Umaru Yar’Adua yesterday challenged Nigerians to wake up to the call for national development, insisting that the attainment of the Vision 20-2020 could only be possible if there was the national will on the part of government and the people.

To transform the country and take it to the next level of development, he said, was a collective responsibility, requiring genuine commitment by the three tiers of government and all their agencies and all citizens.

He threw the challenge in Abuja when he received the participants of the Senior Executive Course 30 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), among them former chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, saying only the determination by all the stakeholders to succeed would revolutionise the country.

After a slide presentation of the participants’ group project- Towards a Roadmap for National Development - Vision 20-2020 and the 7-point Agenda, the president said he could not but agree with the group that national will was important for the attainment of the national vision of the country becoming one of the 20 top economies in the world by the year 2020.

“One of the salient points needed is the national will to attain Vision 20-2020. Without a national will, there is no way we can attain this vision. And I want to use this opportunity to challenge the people of this nation. It is our collective responsibility as a people, to cultivate the necessary will to attain and accomplish this vision.
“This means that each and every individual must cultivate a personal will towards Vision 20-2020. The other aspect is that of government commitment. Governments at all levels must be committed to the attainment of this vision.

And this includes all agencies of government,” he further pointed out.
While not underrating the active participation of the private sector in the country’s development, President Yar’Adua also emphasized the place of shared national values of honesty, integrity, accountability, hardwork, transparency and the fear of God in the attainment of the vision.
He commended the participants of Course 30 for a well-articulated presentation and brilliant work on the project, saying the work had more than ever before strengthened his hope in the ability of the country to surmount all obstacles militating against its development.

In his address on the occasion, the acting Director-General of NIPSS, Dr. James Opadiran, had tendered an unreserved apology of the management of NIPSS to the president for the national embarrassment caused the administration by the top leadership of the institute.
“We have learnt our lessons. More importantly, we will like to appreciate the government for its magnanimity in handling this open sore and for giving us the second chance to redeem the image of the national institute,” he stated.

In the participants’ presentation, they examined the critical sectors – power, infrastructure, wealth creation, security and land reform, making step by step recommendations to government which Yar’Adua promised would be taken seriously in tackling developmental issues.