Be our towering guardian

Now it's Autumn in the nature of Bangladesh. Autumn means alluring fragrance of kans flowers. In this auspicious moment of the topsy-turvy nature, the nation is smugly and boastfully celebrating your happy birthday. It is not too long ago as judged by the history of a nation when you emerged from your self-exile with a bed of thorns awaiting you. But you stood up, playing down all sorts of difficulties, embraced a path of pitfalls and dangers for the sake of countrymen and declared in front of a sea of people at Panthapath: "I will finish the unfinished tasks of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu, and establish a golden Bangladesh (Sonar Bangla) he dreamt during his lifetime.   

You are sticking to your commitment. Today, you have made yourself as a successful leader not only in the country but also in the international arena by virtue of your dynamic and farsighted stewardship and through the implementation of your 'Vision 2021' which has catalyzed the country's moribund economy to a new height---an example now emulated by other countries. Your government keeps building on economic successes and these achievements have earned you many international laurels and awards. The latest 'crown jewel' is the ‘SDG Progress Award’, bestowed on you by the UN-sponsored Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) for Bangladesh’s steady progress in achieving its sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The day on August 15, 1975 when the Father of the Nation was brutally killed in one of the greatest tragedies in the world, the US embassy in a secret message sent to the US State Department said:"The new nation has become leaderless by the death of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman." 

After bloody struggles for many years, you took the helm of a country once called “bottomless basket, a stigma   labeled by the then US Foreign Secretary, Henry Kissinger in 1971. Today, Bangladesh reached its momentum. You have reversed the old 'slur' and steered Bangladesh toward a middle-income status. You have rightly filled the void left by the death of Bangabandhu. You have placed yourself in the row of world-class leaderships. 

The nation pins a high hope on you. By the death of Bangabahndu, the nation not only became a rudderless ship, it was also a country sans guardian. For a nation, to stand up on its backbone, it needs a guardian of towering figure. As a competent daughter of Bangabhandu and a successful leader both at home and abroad, you have to fill in the leadership gap to steer the nation toward prosperity. You should be a revered guardian for people of all strata, irrespective of color, cast and religion. On this auspicious occasion of your birth day, this is the coveted desire of the nation.