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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Former Kaduna State governor, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, has urged Nigerians to close ranks and collectively confront the challenges facing the country, saying they are not insurmountable if citizens and leaders demonstrate the necessary will and determination.
Makarfi made the call in a message of appreciation to Nigerians who felicitated with him on his 70th birthday on Saturday.
The former governor, while expressing gratitude for the goodwill messages he received from across the country, used the milestone to renew his appeal for unity, peace and progress.
“I also seize this moment, as I’ve always done, to appeal to all of us to come together, close ranks and confront the myriad of problems bedevilling our country,” Makarfi said.
According to him, the challenges confronting Nigeria, despite their magnitude, can be overcome if Nigerians summon the spirit and political will required to address them.
“They’re not insurmountable as long as the spirit and the will are there. And I believe they are,” he added.
Makarfi said his 70th birthday attracted an unexpected deluge of congratulatory messages from Nigerians across political, religious and social divides.
He said the volume of messages made it impossible for him to respond individually to everyone who reached out to him.
“It’s no doubt a privilege worthy of appreciation to attain the age of three scores and ten on August 8, 2026; but I personally didn’t bargain for the deluge of goodwill messages that have continued to come my way,” he said.
“My attempts to write individualized responses to the thousands of messages have come to nought as I lose count of who and what messages to respond to.”
The former governor expressed his “most sincere and heartfelt gratitude and appreciation” to Nigerians who celebrated the milestone with him.
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He attributed his attainment of the age of 70 to the grace of Allah, thanking God for the opportunity and other favours he said only He could provide.
“I want to thank Allah (SWT) for enabling the attainment as well as so many other favours that only He is capable of,” Makarfi said.
He also thanked President Bola Tinubu; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani; members of the National Assembly; the Northern Senators’ Forum; and the 1999 set of governors and other former governors.
Makarfi acknowledged traditional rulers, including the Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, as well as other Emirs and chiefs within and outside Kaduna State.
He also appreciated leaders of various political parties, political leaders and candidates across partisan divides, religious leaders, friends and other well-wishers who reached out to him.
The former governor singled out Nigerian youths and youth organisations for commendation, particularly those who used social media to celebrate his birthday.
“I equally appreciate the numerous youths and youth groups that took to the social media to felicitate with me,” he said.
Reflecting on the tributes, Makarfi said some of the descriptions contained in the messages were so flattering that they made him wonder whether they were referring to him.
“I want to say that the various messages, many of which described me in superlatives that made me wonder as to who the references are, have humbled me,” he said.
He said the goodwill messages would serve as motivation for him to continue contributing to the unity, peace and progress of Nigeria.
“They will serve as a tonic that gingers me to continue to give my best to support the unity, peace and progress of our country and its people,” Makarfi said.
