A message from president Jonathan
Dear Compatriots,
I greet and felicitate with you all once again as
we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. I join all of our Christian compatriots
in giving thanks to God Almighty for the divine gift
of Jesus Christ the Messiah whose earthly
incarnation we commemorate today. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ who the
Prophet Isaiah heralded as the Prince of Peace
and Wonderful Counselor, I believe it is very
appropriate that we all, Christians and non-
Christians alike, reflect more deeply on the
virtues and ideals which the Messiah espoused during his earthly mission. To my mind, there can be no doubt that the
greater internalization of the virtues of love for
our fellowmen, tolerance, Godliness, honesty,
fairness to others, selflessness, and peaceful co-
existence with others, by all adult Nigerians, and
the inculcation of the same in our youth, will definitely help our dear nation to overcome most
of its present challenges. Peace and love for others, especially, were a
constant refrain in the Messiah's teachings and
admonitions to mankind. Therefore, as we celebrate his birth, I urge all
Nigerians to offer special prayers for a greater
manifestation of divine peace in our country and
the vanquishing of all demons of hatred,
divisiveness and disunity in our midst. As we celebrate Christmas, let us also remember
and offer special prayers for all of our
countrymen, women and children who have
suffered and continue to suffer untold hardship,
deprivation and death at the hands of terrorists
and insurgents. Let us also continue to pray for our gallant
soldiers and security agents who remain at the
forefront of the national effort to overcome
terrorism and violent extremism, even as the rest
of the nation celebrates Christmas and the
coming New Year. In this season of goodwill, I urge all patriotic
Nigerians to rededicate themselves to doing all
within their powers to support the brave men
and women of our armed forces in the ongoing
war against terrorism, and also support the
Federal Government's efforts to provide more succour to the hapless victims of terrorist
atrocities. The Victims' Support Fund which we have
established to raise additional funds to assist our
compatriots who have been adversely affected
by continuing insecurity in parts of our country
remains active. I call on all individuals and corporate
organisations who have not yet done so, to
donate more generously to the Fund which is
being efficaciously deployed to ease the
sufferings of victims of terrorist violence in the
country. Dear Compatriots, we are also celebrating this
Christmas against the background of
preparations for next year's general elections. I seize this opportunity to reassure the nation that
my administration will give the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) all
necessary support to ensure that it delivers very
free, fair, credible and acceptable elections in
2015. National security agencies will also be given all
necessary support to enhance their ability to
ensure that the elections which should
strengthen democracy in our country are
peaceful and violence free. I urge our political class to be law- abiding and
place the greater interests of our nation above all
personal or sectional interests in the countdown
to the elections. Let us all be more statesman-like, conduct issues-
based campaigns, and eschew the promotion of
falsehood, division and hatred of others as we
seek the votes of our countrymen in what should
be a peaceful competition among contending
points of view for the progress and development of our dear nation. I remain convinced that God Almighty is still with
us as a nation even in the midst of our current
challenges which we shall surely overcome with
greater unity of purpose, dedication, commitment
and perseverance. Let this year's celebration of the birth of Christ
the Messiah rekindle, strengthen and reaffirm our
faith in our national ability to overcome all
challenges, with God on our side. I wish you all very happy Christmas celebrations. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR President, Federal Republic of Nigeria