The 2008 presidential candidate of the Convention People's Party, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has urged Ghanaians to be thankful to God for seeing the nation through another year as it continues the journey towards building "a Better Ghana" for all. "In the year 2009, we celebrated 100 years of the birth of the founding father of our nation, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. In 2007, we celebrated 50 years as an independent nation. Even in all these I celebrations, we experienced dissent, disagreement and some degree of desperation in the land. But we remained one nation and one people with a common destiny. We thank God for these blessings, "he said in a Christmas and New Year statement to the Daily Graphic. As demonstrated recently, the statement said, Ghana needed to build consensus on a long-term national development agenda that sat on the foundation of the Directive Principles of State Policy that are enshrined in the 1992 Constitution. “We should all resolve to build a great country together. We must all work to unite our people. We should all pledge to do everything we can in our individual comers to bring inclusiveness into the Ghanaian society' so that the best people can serve the country in an areas of society," he stated. According to the statement, what most Ghanaians needed was the opportunity to be the best that they could be, saying, "We all need to promote an open, transparent nation that will attack corruption and indiscipline with a sense of urgency so that we can build a just and caring society that is prosperous." "I wish for everything good and wonderful for every Ghanaian everywhere. I wish that President Mills will be as he himself has wished for himself, a "father for all". We should all remember that there is only one Ghana and whatever happens, good or bad, affects all of us without regard to party affiliation or ethnic origin," he stated. In 2010, Dr Nduom noted, "God willing, oil and gas will flow in our land. May the Lord grant us all the wisdom to do with this natural gift something that will glorify His name and make the people He put on this soil called Ghana more prosperous." Source: Daily Graphic