By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto
Being a seasonal message to Nigerians by Sokoto state Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal
Beloved Nigerians, its Christmas time again and I extend to you all very warm greetings of the yuletide on behalf of my family and people of Sokoto state. May the gracious presence of God fill your home with peace and your heart with joy, in this season and always.
This season is a unique one, like none before it. Reports from around our country at his time, indicate that our nation is assailed on all sides by poverty, raging inflation, unparalleled insecurity and stories of kidnappings and failings by our security apparatuses to adequately secure and protect our peoples.
Ordinarily, we should despair or lose the motivation and reason to celebrate this beautiful moments of joy and peace to the world, but we must not!
However, as we celebrate with our kith and kin in our villages and towns, we must do so mindful of the fact that a second wave and variant of COVID – 19, which medical experts say spreads faster than the one we are still enduring, is here with us.
I encouraged everyone therefore, to be mindful of these limiting factors and situations. As a result, this is not the time to throw caution to the wind but a time to be cautious of all the COVID – 19 protocols of social distancing, hand washing, wearing of the face mask always and avoiding crowded arenas.
Let’s keep in mind that we can beat this virus by obeying these simple health instructions as we celebrate. Christmas and New Year are joyful seasons that bring forth new and assured life to all, let’s not make either a season to further spread the virus.
Today and especially during this holiday season I pay tribute to all our health workers and security agents at the frontlines keeping us safe every day. I bring to them a message of gratitude and salutation for the great service and sacrifice they bear daily to make us a healthy and secure nation. Know you are always in our thoughts and prayers
In Sokoto we are turning every stone of development to ensure that the quality of healthcare and security cover for our people is holistic and responsive to the situation in the country today.
We have in place a Contributory health insurance scheme for our workers including students. Efforts are on to extend it to our citizens in the informal sector. We are also building massive state – of – art first class teaching hospital to provide modern and tertiary healthcare to our people as our Advanced Diagnostic Centre is nearing completion. For security, we have revamped nearly 19 grazing reserves to check incidents of farmers and herders clashes while supporting the security outfits in the state with logistics to perform better.
While wishing you all Happy Christmas celebrations, I also extend our best wishes for a New Year of Happiness in a world of peace devoid of incidents of fear and insecurity.
