In what appears to be a direct response to the criticism from the opposition parties and other Nigerians, over the low-keyed celebration at the State House, Abuja, instead of the traditional Eagle Square, President Goodluck Jonathan has announced that the situation will not be different until 2014.
While the Federal Government considered the celebration of the nation’s Independence Day inside Aso Rock as a cost-saving measure, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and other political leaders insisted it was a serious error of judgment.
They had linked the cancellation of the traditional parade and shifting of activities marking the nation’s 51st Independence anniversary from the Eagle Square to the relatively-secure Presidential Villa to threats posed by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and fundamentalist Islamic sect, Boko Haram.
But Presidnet Jonathan who just ended a two-day working visit to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, said the 2014 celebration would be merged with centenary celebration not only because of the uniqueness of the year but would also be the last one before the expiration of his tenure in May 2015.