 I'm really pleased to be here to join you all at this special anniversary dinner. I also must thank you all very much for honoring our invitation to be here to celebrate our country, especially on this anniversary of our independence, the 58th anniversary of our independence. I am 61 years old this year, and most of those six decades I have lived here in this country, here in Nigeria. So I think I can say that I know Nigeria quite well. A few years ago, a poll reported in the British independent newspaper declared us the happiest people on Earth. The same poll said that we were amongst the most optimistic people on Earth, despite everything that we've experienced as a nation. I agree with both assessments, in other words that we're possibly one of the happiest in the world, but I must also add that we are by far the most humorous people on the face of Earth. Well, if you don't agree with me, because I see from your unenthusiastic clapping that you may not so agree, but I can tell you so many reasons why we are the most humorous. A few months ago, an important Nigerian politician who was on his way to a trial in a court said that he was abducted, and after he escaped from his abductors, he remained hiding on a tree for 11 hours. Now the most interesting part of that story is that many people online in particular on the internet started to tell different stories of different birds and how long those birds could remain perched on a tree. All these were the Nigerian contributions to that story. Yet another very important politician insists and still insists that the most important attribute for leadership is dancing. And boy, could he dance. And for those who think that that's ridiculous, at least 200,000 people voted for him in a particular election. When I served as Attorney General, as advisor to the Attorney General of the Federation in between 1987 and 1992, I had a driver who was always broke, but he was so optimistic. He had 14 children, while I, his boss, had only one child. And I asked him, why do you keep having so many children? Of course, he had more than one wife. He said to me in Europe, I want to tell you what he said. He said, I don't know which of them can become President of Nigeria. So the more I have, the better my chances. How optimistic can you be? Only a Nigerian can be that optimistic. Only a Nigerian. Wherever we're from, wherever part of this great country we're from, whether we're from the North, the South, South, Southeast, wherever, we have the same DNA, the same DNA. We love our country, and this may not always be obvious, but you try insulting Nigeria if you're a foreigner, and you will see how fierce and angry our reaction can be. A Nigerian can say the same thing, the same thing, but if you're a foreigner, don't try. We love our food, we love our clothes, we love our merry-making, we love to be successful, we love success, we are resilient, we are fair-minded. Nigerians always fight for the underdog. We believe in justice and the rule of law, even though our system can do much better. But we are by far one of the smartest and perhaps the most talented people on earth. And I don't say that lightly. In the U.S., Nigerians are the most educated ethnic group. The most educated ethnic group. Not one of the most educated, but the most educated ethnic group. 60% of Nigerians who live in America, we are told, have college degrees, 60%. This is above the American average of 30%. So 60% of Nigerians who live there. And Nigerians are one of the highest income earners. Even there in America, and I choose America just as one example, 25% more than the median income. Nigerians earn 25% more than the median income. The world's fastest supercomputer was designed by a world-renowned inventor, Philip Emeagwali, a full-blown Nigerian. This means that Nigeria has the patent for the world's fastest computer. That's Nigeria. The wealthiest black African. It's Nigerian. It's not a good thing. We're also told that the wealthiest black woman in the world is also in Nigeria. Right? And who knows who the next wealthiest African will be here? Or the next wealthiest African. In the Nigerian family, the Mafidons, I don't know whether you ever heard of the Mafidons. They live in the UK. They've been officially declared the smartest family in that country, the smartest. A family of about six children who have excelled in the academics in incredible ways. The design of that famous car, the Chevrolet Volt, is a guy called Jelani Aliou. He now works for the Nigerian government. Super-talented Nigerian from Sokoto State. And for those who think that we're only giants in technology and business, Anthony Joshua is the world's best heavyweight boxer. For those who work boxing. Everybody is dancing to Nigerian music. And our traditional attires, especially our women's attires and headgears, have conquered Africa. Even our male attire. There's just something about that Nigerian swag. You know, there's something about it. There's something about it. You know, there's something about it. Whether they like it or not. Nigerians are just exceptional. We're just different. Anywhere you go, you'll see you in Nigeria. Don't you recognize a Nigerian when you see one? Anywhere you go, you can just tell that this one has to be a Nigerian. If you see somebody reading a book on how to become self-confident, know that it's not a Nigerian. We are born self-confident. The reason why we're so optimistic is because we know that we're the best. We know that we're going to excel. It may seem like it's taking a while, and there are many problems, but every one of the over 1,000 days that I have been vice president for, I go stronger in my complete confidence that we are going to be the envy of the whole world in a few short years. Well, you might say that that is optimistic. Why not? I'm an Nigerian. Happy Independence Day. God bless you all.