LAGOS—former military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, (rtd)yesterday, urged politicians to shelve politics and unite to address the security challenges facing the country.

This came as Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola and other prominent citizens called on all Nigerians to actively participate in the search for solutions to the multifaceted challenges plaguing the country.

Abubakar, who spoke at the inauguration of an online newspaper, named The Cable, at the City Hall, Lagos, said the country needed the support of politicians irrespective of the parties, to tackle the common problems confronting Nigeria.

According to him, “At this moment of our nationhood we are faced with several challenges threatening our quest for a greater tomorrow. We are facing security challenges, as well as the need to reduce the poverty in the land.

All of us as Nigerians have a duty to join hands in fighting these challenges. If Nigeria is safe and secure and the quality of life in the country improves, it is in the benefit of the nation. The singular fight should make us strive to build the country together.

“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to politicians and to all Nigerians to always put the country first. The politicians in the country should forget their differences when issues of security and stability in the country are at stake. Perhaps, our politicians can learn a lesson from the Americans, whenever there is election, they identify themselves as Republicans and Democrats but as soon as the election is over, they identify themselves as Americans. Their country’s interest always set precedent over partisan interest.”

Nation building

Other speakers, who spoke on, “Nigeria at 100: Reflections on the future”, agreed that all sectors of the nations’ economy had critical role to play in the nation building.

Speaking, Governor Fashola said the electorate had a major role to play in deciding the right leadership of the country.

He asked, “Is this where we ought to be in the country? All of the advances we have made in this country, what improvement have we made of those advances? Yes, we can talk about telephone but where are the made in Nigeria telephones? In this competitive world, we must begin to ask ourselves some questions, otherwise we are not taking the right steps.”

The governor, who commended the initiative of the publisher, said moving from newsprint to digital newspaper publication would redefine the way newspapers were read in the country.

In her contribution, Senator Chris Anyanwu, said the country had made some strides in different spheres of national life, noting “there are a few things that we have to get right. In the communication sector, we have made a quantum leap in the banking sector and something good has happened.”

John Momoh, Chief Executive Officer Channels Television, said “though the country has become a conglomeration of the bad, good and ugly the degree to which the different components are placed define the polity and makes it great.

Also speaking, the publisher of The Cable, Simon Kolawole, said “in this age of anything goes journalism, The Cable is a professionally run newspaper. It is not a blog or an aggregator but a classy newspaper produced by those with the professional expertise. We are not tools in the hands of any political, ethnic, business or religious interest.”

Also, present at the launch were Mr. Nduka Obiagbena, Chairman, Thisday media group and Arise Television Network, Chairman of Access Bank Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, frontline medical practitioner, Dr. Tunde Soleye, captains of industries and media executives.