Femi Adesina: Nigerians won’t be second-class citizens abroad if we have the country we want

Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, says Nigerians will not become second-class citizens elsewhere if the country is what it ought to be.

Speaking at the “Naija Youth Talk” programme organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Abuja on Monday, Adesina said while it is the right of citizens to demand for the kind of country they want, it is pertinent to love Nigeria against all odds.

The event was the first of a series of conversations about the Nigerian youth and children ahead of the 2019 International Literacy Day.

He said: “We have a right to ask for the kind of country we want. A country where there will be no xenophobia; where nobody will tell us, go back to your country.

“If we have the kind of country we want, why would we go and become second-class or third-class citizens anywhere else? We should get the kind of county we want.

“But for us to get that kind of country, we must love our country and our country must reciprocate by loving us. The question then is, do we love this country?

“There is nothing better than loving the unloveable. If you love just the lovable, you have not done anything outstanding. Nigeria in its past and present state may be unlovable but it remains our country.”

Euphrates Wose, chief of education, UNICEF, said part of the focus of the programme is to address the existing gap in the education of children in the country among other challenges.

“Young people today live in a world of unlimited potential. However, despite gains in the situation facing Nigerian children and young people in recent years, much remains to be done,” she said.

She also advocated for more collaboration between relevant stakeholders and continued support for a better future for the Nigerian youth and children.