Agaju Madugba, Katsina
Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari at the weekend received a “Living Hero” award during which he described the myraid of security and socio-economic challenges plaguing Nigeria as normal but transient for a developing nation.
According to the governor, developed economies also had similar and even worse challenges before getting to their current stages of development.
Related: Nigeria and sustainable peace, development
Masari spoke at the Government House when a group, Citizens Rights and Leadership Awareness Initiative, presented him with the award in recognition of what they called the governor’s, “inspiring leadership qualities and advancement of quality education.”
According to Masari, “we are here for service delivery and whatever we do in the course of this assignment is what we are supposed to do.
“At this point in Nigeria, leadership is not easy because of the myraid of challenges of insecurity, lack of resources, conflicting interests and politics.
“They are challenges which every nation goes through as part of the processes of nation-building. If you go through history and look at what some other nations went through before they arrived at what they are today, you realise that they went through similar or even worse situations than we are currently going through.
“I believe that if Nigerians work together, we will come out of the present challenges.
“Nation-building is not about eight or four years, it is an endless journey but we hope that within the period and the time given to us by our creator, we will do the best we can, to improve the quality of lives of our people.
“Your recognition will spur us to do more as we move from 2019 to 2023 and beyond,” Masari said.
Presenting the award to the governor, the group’s Coordinator, Ambassador Oladipo Musibau, noted that Masari has since 2015 continued to dispense the dividends of democracy to the people of Katsina State, “and has done so in a manner that has tended to inspire others.”
According to him, “the Living Hero award is an initiative to motivate Nigerian icons who should be celebrated while alive instead of placing beautiful epitaphs on their tombs in death.”