Nigerian
bikers under the auspices of The Riders’ Embassy (TRE) yesterday
stormed the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, where they held the “One
Nigeria Ride” through the major streets of the capital city to mark this
year’s 57th independence anniversary...
The bikers came out in their numbers
to the popular Unity Fountain, near the TransCorp Hilton Hotel, from
where they took off in a convoy riding through major streets in Abuja
city center to the venue of an event at a garden in Jabi District.
One
of the major highlights of the event was the hoisting of a giant
Nigerian flag in the center of the city amidst pomp and pageantry.
The organizers of the event told THISDAY that the significance of the
Nigerian flag was to symbolise their belief in one, undivided Nigeria
and to draw the attention of the youths to patriotism and good
citizenship.
Addressing
the gathering of hundreds of bikers who took part in the ride, the
leader of the group, Abubakar Abdullahi, said the rally was necessitated
by the need to arrest the increasing agitations for the division of the
country coming from different groups and from some countrymen and women
who are fed up with the way things have been run in the country.
According
to Abdullahi, complaints of injustice, neglect, suffering, inequality,
corruption, failed promises, and the very slow pace of development,
among other issues, had become the order of the day, adding that the
overall sense of frustration stemmed from the fact that expectations had
been dashed.
“As
fellow Nigerians, we identify with many of these grievances. Nigeria is
not what we all want it to be by any stretch. A lot of work needs to be
done and a lot of wrongs need to be corrected.
“But
while we agree that these grievances are legitimate, we also believe
some of the demands are not the solution and that includes the demand
for the division of Nigeria.
“To
the contrary, we believe that a more united Nigeria is what we need to
address these problems. This was the motivation behind coming up with
this event.
“As
a group, we believe that the country is better as a united people. We
ride against hate, against injustice, against tyranny, corruption and we
ride for peace, justice, development and for the unity of Nigeria,”
Abdullahi said.
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