Global stocks sank Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with talks that are aimed at averting a trade war with China. Equities were also dented by poor eurozone economic data, and as Trump cast doubt on a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Trump (is) continuing to drive uncertainty over global trade,” said analyst Joshua Mahony at trading firm IG. “European markets are following their Asian counterparts lower, as a pessimistic tone from Trump is compounded by downbeat economic data,” he added. Markets had surged Monday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said they had agreed to pull back from imposing threatened tariffs on billions of dollars of goods, and continue talks on a variety of trade issues. However, Trump has declared that he was “not satisfied” with the status of the talks, fuelling worries that the world’s top two economies could still slug out an economically pain
The elder statesman who reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that Nigeria remains one entity said that there are more people in support of the unity of the country than those who are agitating for its breakup.Gowon spoke with journalists at “The Honour Nigeria Awards” organised by Trinity House tagged “Fulfilling Nigerians potential” held at Victoria Island, Lagos.
He expressed commitment to the meaning given to his name by a journalist: “Go On With One Nigeria” (GOWON), adding that Nigerians created the problems and should rise to solve them.Gowon stressed that with love for God and one another, Nigeria would achieve greatness in a very short time, adding that all citizens must make the country work.
“God is saying to Nigerians that we are His people. Aren’t we all religious in Nigeria? Even the traditional religion always worships that unknown god and that unknown god is rarely the God almighty that we all believe in. We should concentrate on loving each other and work to ensure that we achieve greatness. It is up to every Nigerian to contribute his quota.
“I admonish you to work hard to make sure that you convince those who are in the agitation for the break up of the country. Tell them no, we have got to convince them and I can assure that there are more who love Nigeria and like Nigeria to continue in peace and development than those who are trying to create problems for Nigeria.
“We should live an exemplary life, in whatever you do, be honest to God, love God the way you should and love your neighbour as yourself, if honestly we can practise that, then things will be better. I love Nigeria, I believe in Nigeria like many other Nigerians and like the young man that wrote that article giving a meaning to my name, Go On With One Nigeria, I can assure you that it gave me the courage and determination to do it correctly, with the fear of God and with the love for my people. We Nigerians created the problems for ourselves and we have got to solve them by ourselves.”
Earlier in his message, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, the founder, Trinity House said the event was part of activities to commemorate Nigeria’s independence anniversary celebrations in the church.
“The event is the church’s own way of contributing to the development of the Nigerian nation. Nigeria has some of the most outstanding people that the world has ever seen as citizens. We must begin to celebrate these people and also celebrate the good about Nigeria; we must raise up bright and new role models. Our prayer is that Nigeria will begin to be truly outstanding.”
Gowon spoke yesterday as former political adviser in the Presidency, Dr. Usman Bugaje, said the north would take a clear position on restructuring based on research and consensus rather than on emotion and selfishness.In a statement, Bugaje, who is the convener of Arewa Research and Development Project, said given that the issue of restructuring had become contentious, it would be necessary for the north to rise above the confusion and present a more rational position.
“In the last one year, or so, ‘restructuring’ and ‘true federalism’ have dominated political discourse in Nigeria. Unfortunately, when you listen to the speeches and read the articles on these issues, you will find out that there are as many comprehensions of these terms as there are people speaking or writing. Besides, most of the discussions seem to ignore the history of the evolution of our federalism and this failure has actually helped to rob the whole exercise of its propriety, accuracy and clarity,” Bugaje said.
According to him, though citizens are at liberty to canvass restructuring, their use of imprecise terms and inaccurate arguments has not only resulted in communication breakdown, but has helped to spread confusion and generate needless tension in the polity.To this effect, Bugaje said the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP) would hold a two-day conference in Kaduna on Wednesday to help bring clarity, accuracy and coherence into the debate as well as provide a sound basis upon which the North would anchor its position on restructuring.
He said the planning committee of the conference drew heavily from northern academic institutions and organisations like the Northern Elders’ Forum, Arewa Consultative Forum, Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation, Code Group, Northern Delegates Forum, Northern Re-awakening, Jamiyyar Matan Arewa and Arewa Initiative for Good Governance.
According to him, “some of the key papers will be on the history of the Nigerian federation; an examination of the constitutional developments in pre- and post-colonial Nigeria; and the dangers of war, the dynamics of peace. “
“Others will look at the principles of fiscal federalism and revenue allocation; the land question and the development agenda of the north. In the afternoon of both two days, a panel of experts will focus on these presentations and bring the practical dimensions to the fore while the audience gets a chance to make their inputs,” Bugaje added.
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