Ulster Unionist Party Leader Mike Nesbitt MLA has stated that Northern Ireland has reached a "unique moment" in its history, where every major political party now shares the goal of making the region work.

Speaking to students at St Mary's University College in West Belfast yesterday (Tuesday, 13th May) on the theme of 'Hope', Mr Nesbitt challenged his audience to recall the last time a senior nationalist or republican politician described Northern Ireland as a "failed, ungovernable statelet".

He elaborated: "If you are the lead party of government, it's not a sentiment you are likely to endorse. Especially if you are looking forward to a border poll and the potential for constitutional change."

Mr Nesbitt posed a question to illustrate his point regarding a potential border poll: "If you are voting in Dublin, or Galway, or Wexford or Limerick, what's attractive about voting to adopt a failed, ungovernable statelet of 1.9 million people, people you don't know or particularly like – and who will require thousands of your personal Euro in additional tax to fund the new dispensation?"

While acknowledging the persistent divergence in constitutional preferences between nationalists and unionists, the UUP Leader emphasised that every politician has a fundamental responsibility to deliver for the citizens of Northern Ireland. He introduced his concept of a "Prosperity Agenda": "Prosperity isn't just about money, although being financially secure is important... But it's also about what the Americans so wisely referred to in the 1776 Declaration of Independence, when they wrote: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'"

For Mr Nesbitt, this translates to "creating the circumstances where you, as an individual, can wake up feeling life is good, get out of bed with a sense of purpose, because you have things to do that you want to do – stressing 'want to do'."

He asserted that majoritarianism is not viable in Northern Ireland and that power-sharing is the only way forward.

"Unionists – or most of us – realise we cannot govern this place without the active support of nationalists and republicans. Nationalists and republicans – or again the majority – realise they can no longer describe this place as a failed, ungovernable statelet," Mr Nesbitt stated.

He concluded: "For the first time, everyone – unionists, nationalists and republicans – sense the need to make Northern Ireland work. Our motivations may be different, but that's no obstacle to make this place function for the benefit of all. I am tired of hearing about the potential of this place. I want to turn potential into reality – for you, for your peers and for everyone."