 I need not emphasise how indebted we are to the National War Museum and especially to the Ken Namanis Centre for Literature and the governments of the southeastern states for hosting this important gathering of Nigerians to mark 50 years since the civil war ended. I bring you all special felicitations from President Muhammad Buhari who has asked me to specially also commend Senator Ken Naman and he shared with me just yesterday evening about your friendship over the years and the several times that you hosted it in your home. Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, we stand in the shadow of one of the darkest chapters of our nation's history, surrounded even here by the artefacts and monuments to a terrible conflict. This is neither the time nor the place for rehashing the justifications and recriminations and claims and countertits about the remote and immediate causes of the war. There are already many scholarly publications, histories, biographies and brilliant works of fiction that have been devoted to these issues and rightly so. Yet a nation must always examine itself and reflect on its journey. In a democratic society, this means a robust conversation over the vigorously contested aspects of this country. Such a debate remains necessary if only to enhance our self-knowledge but perhaps more importantly to bring closure. What we all agree on is that this civil war, the civil war of 1960s, 1970s was a defining national tragedy, a catastrophic conflict that scarred us as a people. Its cost in life was massive. So was the cost in lost opportunities for national advancement. The spectacle of promising lives caught short in their prime, families ruptured, communities sacked and the environment poisoned by ordinance is one that rebounds to our eternal regret. Yet we do not remember this seminary meant in our history. Many to indulge in the futility of regret, we engage in the discipline of remembrance so that we can learn from this and resolve that such horrors will never repeat themselves again. And we must do so, not just this month, our nation's month of remembrance of our fallen heroes for every moment of our lives. Indeed the greatest tribute that we can pay to the memories of those who made the supreme sacrifice for the survival of this union that we call Nigeria today is to ensure that the circumstances that led to the conflict are never again re-enacted. We cannot change the past, but it is within our power to ensure that history does not repeat itself and that we never again confront the awful consequences of abandoning dialogue and letting our darkest impulses drive us. 60 years after the end of the war, Dean Jukuameko Juku was asked if he thought the war resolved the issues for which it was fought. His reply is instructing. He said and I quote, Wars hardly ever resolve issues. Wars are an aberration. Eventually the issues still have to be dealt with. And of course, in any event, it is evident that the costs of resolving our differences peacefully through dialogue is far less than trying to do so through war. Dean Jukuameko once described Nigeria and I quote, as a nation favoured by Providence, end of quote, a nation favoured by Providence. I certainly see the hand of Providence in our nation's survival of that conflict. Unlike many other African countries which have known protracted multi-generational strife, our conflict ended after three years and we have suffered no relapse into such practices since then. Your expenses in the 50 years that follow through the end of the war, we have invested in national integration, peace-building and reconciliation. That has meant a lot less than a perfect class. We must admit that that process of reconciliation is not a perfect act. Our road has gone been easy and we face many challenges along the way. For those setbacks should not induce hopelessness or despondency, but should constantly remind us that the stakes are high because of the incredible dividends of unity for all of us. Again in the words of Archibald and I again, there are individuals as well as nations who on account of peculiar circumstances are commandeered by history to facilitate mankind's advancement. Nigeria is such a nation. The vast human and material world with which he is endowed bestows on her a role in Africa and the world, which no one else can assume of the end of hope, are historical missions. Therefore, it is not just to build a nation that works for us all, but to create a succinct quality, an economic and social powerhouse capable of firing us and our continent to prosperity and renown. And yet nation-building is hard work, bringing together the multiplicity of ethnicities, languages, and creeds that make up this great land under one banner is an honorous but necessary task. But the more difficult and crucial work, the more difficult and crucial work is that of emphasizing and ensuring fairness, justice, and equity amongst all ethnicities and religions. We must be open to addressing the concerns of all within this union. All of us must feel entitled to legitimately aspire to the limits and extents of our dreams and visions in public life and in commerce. For those of us that are old enough to remember the war, we must be mindful of the fact that the majority of Nigerians alive today are too young to have witnessed the civil war and therefore have no real memory of it. The last 50 years belonged to us, but the next 50 years belonged to our children and their children. And we have a responsibility to unshackle them from the ghosts of ancient grudges and grievances. As elders, we must ensure that we do not poison the minds of the young with our own prejudices and affect their ability to take advantage of the opportunities available to them in their own country. We must also avoid foisting the toggle of victimhood and helplessness of the next generation. The memory of elders is crucial and supplies us with instructive lessons. But we must enable the vision and the imagination of our youth to flower, untainted by the biases of the past. Moments ago, I taught the National War Museum with a group of students from schools in the state. It was a tremendous learning experience for us all. Of course, I was struck by how noble the war stories behind the artefacts were, not just to me, but also to the students. I was reminded that while we must acquaint the younger generation with our history, we must also realize that it does not seem that this young generation do not see the world through the same lenses as we did in the 60s. Tima Manda and Bosia DJ talks about the dangers of a single story and there is certainly a danger in casting Nigeria solely in terms of the narratives of those that witness the war. The generations born after the Civil War are navigating the adventure of being Nigerians on different terms from their forebears. Let us give them a chance to do better than ourselves. Young Nigerians are intramural, migrated and co-mingling in the quest for love and livelihood. They are doing business together and forging alliances in civil society and politics across ethnic and religious divides. Social media may be a sign for divisive debates, but it is also bringing young Nigerians together in spite of their diversity and helping them to forge a new collective consciousness. Our children are showing us that it is possible to forge friendships and bonds across ethnic and religious lines, but are even stronger than family ties and this in itself evokes the possibility of unity in diversity. One of our biggest challenges as a nation is that of providing opportunity and hope for our teaming young population. Our young people are most creative, energetic and dynamic and the south east is home to Nigeria's most entrepreneurial sons and daughters. Young Nigerians all over the country and in the south east in particular require outlets that will enable them to maximize their potential. We have listened to the voices of some of our young people in this region, expressing their discontent. However, we do not hear a battle cry, but rather we hear a cry for help. We are determined to continue providing them with the tools and resources that will enable them to make the most of their life. This is the reason for our collaboration with the AFDP, the African Development Fund, to provide a facility of $500 million for start-ups and entrepreneurial loans. This is a sign for the 10 billion Naira funds set up by the Bank of Industry for the same purpose. We are also working with the CBN towards the creation of the entrepreneurial bank. In addition, we are providing a shared facility for MSMEs to be launched at the winning end in Anambra State, April of 2020, for MSMEs in the shoe production cluster. Our young people are full of zest, ideas and creative energy, and sometimes they get understandably frustrated with the inability of our institutions to keep pace with their vision and dynamism. We must not let agents of discord weaponize this frustration and turn it into a severe rupture within the country. The opportunities that you need for growth and prosperity are all here in Anambra, and we are working every day, and we must continue to work both at the national and the subnational, the state level and the local government level to increase these opportunities. What our young people need is not self-determination but self-actualization, more opportunities, more support to attain their dreams and visions, and we are committed to creating these opportunities. Within the years for the end of the conflict, the depots reestablish themselves as the foremost entrepreneurs in our country and are now thriving everywhere across the vast expanse of this land. The southeast is Nigeria's natural industrial hub, slowly and steadily, and industrial revolution is gathering momentum here in Abia State, under the southeast as a whole, from leatherworks and textile to engineering. The need in upper level is imagined as an international brand, and I do not say this lightly or without knowledge. I have the privilege of launching the first national MSME clinic at the Alapolo Club on the 25th of January, 2017, with the exception of the civil government, and we have over 15,000 participants. Aside from Igmo State, all other South Eastern states have boosted the national MSME with large attendance of MSME. Abia State Government won the inaugural award for MSME State of the Year, 2018, and Miss Nora Oransoya from Abia State won the 2019 Outstanding Female MSME of the Year award. She received a brand new card and prize money. This zone is already a regional manufacturing hub, servicing West Central Africa. Goods from here are already heading to Cameroon, Ghana, Tobu, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, and other African countries. The Igbo apprenticeship system has been cited as the biggest business incubator in the world. And the South East is the birthplace of Nolimon, a film industry which has achieved global renown on the strength of the creativity and imagination of young Nigerians. I have given these examples to demonstrate that nations are built not by politicians or their opinion, however opinionated they may be, but by men and women in business, in the professions, in commerce, large, medium and small, who demonstrate their belief in their country by investing their resources and their lives in enterprises here in their own country. Those are the nation's builders. And the reason why I've mentioned all of these people is because by investing here, by working here, they've demonstrated more faith in this nation and this nation's unity and all of the top that we have, and all of the top that is possible. The businessmen and women, professionals and traders here in the South East and across Nigeria are indeed the true nation builder. One of our errors in times past has been our inability to appropriate the positive aspects of the Civil War legacy, such as the spirit of innovation and self-reliance that has inspired technological feats in extreme circumstances. And we've seen some of those technological feats even here at this museum. Within that period are people's manufactured weapons and tools even for refining crude oil. After the war, the federal government sought to elaborate the technological genius that had come to the fore during the Comfort by establishing the Project Development Institute product in the Middle East. Unfortunately over the years, our commitment to the objections of product have not been as strong as they should be, and we've lost a lot of ground on that aspect. However, we are now making up for lost time because of our commitment to reviving local manufacturing. Innocence Motors, for example, a company that epitomizes the Nigerian product of genius is now partnering with the Army to solidify some of its equipment, produce armored fighting vehicles and other military hardware. Innocence is also in partnership with Air Force towards the manufacture of aircraft parts. I'm especially proud to note that Amdian Foodware Industry is keeping our truth. Four years ago, the military ordered about 60,000 pairs of foods from Abahia, and I think that there is no greater evidence or how firmly we have closed ranks as a people, that the fact that the industries of this region are today equipping our nations and forces. Years ago, Jim Chukwameka of Chukwum said, and I quote him again, the war had at least underlined for all of us the importance of staying together, end of war. Brothers and sisters, no human relationship is perfect, and no nation is received or conceived in ideal circumstances. All politics, no matter how good they look today, are imperfect, and only through the labors of their members, only through the labors of their citizens are nations built and nations perfected. Like families, nations are made up of people who disagree and at times disagree intensely. The ties that bind us have survived the most intense disagreement that we have known as a people and resulted in the civil war. But our national anthem enjoins us to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign. Setbacks and adversity are as integral to a nation's journey as they are to human existence as a whole. But we have also known hope and victory. We should not on account of the disappointments that we have suffered give up on our collective possibilities and on each other. It is true that we are not where we want to be, but we have not been standing still either. Our country is very much a work in progress. The attainment of peace and justice is not an event, it's a process and a journey. In 2017 this administration paid the accumulated arrears of pensions owed to retired war affected ex-piafran police who had been pardoned since the year 2000. This was more than a gesture of good faith. It demonstrates our belief in fairness and justice and our conviction that we can only move together forward. So we must build a country devoid of any form of discrimination and marginalization. We must build a country that is devoid of discrimination and marginalization. This is the ideal to which we must strive. However, we cannot prosecute this struggle with weapons of bigotry and hatred. Our tools for creating the country we want the country we need to be are tools of empathy and a willingness to invest effort in understanding each other. All of us must be mindful of the sacrifice that unity calls for. It means that those of us in power must understand that the bitterness of the loser when the winner takes it all will ultimately swallow all including the winner. Three watch words. Three watch words. Matter, fairness, equity and justice. We must also be mindful of the fact that it's far easier to destroy than to build. It's easier to put asunder than to bring together. It is my firm conviction that we are infinitely stronger and better together. This is not a time to put asunder as a time to bring together. We cannot change the past but we can learn from it and build a better future together. Thank you very much. Thank you.